


Unravel

by oikstooru



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adventure, Blood and Violence, Crime Fighting, Detectives, F/F, First Kiss, M/M, Monsters, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plot Twists, Small Towns, Surprises, Suspense, Teenagers, Trust Issues, Underage Kissing, Violence, Yandere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26313655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oikstooru/pseuds/oikstooru
Summary: Echo Creek has always been an odd town.Whispers seemed to float out from the forest at night, and several people have sworn that they'd heard beckoning voices lure them towards the river that twisted and turned throughout the dense foliage.At least once a month, lonesome howls pierced the silence of the night, making babies cry and adults shiver with discomfort.Every once and a while, people would simply vanish, and police would declare that they'd skipped town, too scared of the fake rumors that plagued everyone who lived there.But when a high school student is found brutally murdered and missing limbs, the police are forced to admit that the disappearances might be more than coincidence.A gang of friends band together to try to solve the case, convinced that something unnatural killed their peer. As the case develops, they're forced to understand one thing: trust nobody.***Updates sporadically
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 93
Kudos: 68





	1. The Beginning Of The End

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for checking out my fic!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy <3

The pitter patter of panicked footsteps echoed throughout the nearly deserted pathway, surrounded by a blanket of forest. Crisp leaves shedded from Autumn trees crunched beneath the boy’s feet, as he let loose a terrified shriek of desperation. 

“Help! Oh God, somebody please help!” The boy glanced over his shoulder, checking to see if his attacker was still behind him. The person currently chasing him was clutching a large knife, and grinning widely, clearly enjoying the thrill of the hunt. 

Tears streamed down the boy’s cheeks, blurring his vision. He’d been running for around ten minutes now, and his lungs burned from the effort. The school backpack that had previously been strung over a shoulder carelessly had been ditched earlier, it’d been slowing him significantly, which wasn’t something he could afford. All he was carrying now were his school clothes, a casual cream-coloured sweater paired with slim blue jeans. The white converse tennis shoes he’d chosen for comfort appeared to be a grave mistake, as he’d been having difficulty running in them. 

His feet slammed against the worn out dirt pathway, the very one several people used daily for commutes to and from their tiny high school, Echo Creek High. 

_I shouldn't have stayed late today, damn you, Mr. Takeda!_ The boy wailed inwardly, trying to ignore the increasing burning sensation that spread throughout his tired legs. 

Mr. Takeda, his math teacher, had kept him back after school, wanting to discuss the dip in his recent test scores. It wasn’t even anything super concerning! Definitely nothing worth dying over, for sure.

“Just give up, already!” A voice called from behind him, followed by maniacal giggles. His attacker didn’t seem tired at all, which only terrified the boy more. They’d been chasing him for a while now, yet it seemed he was the only one feeling the effects of it. 

Panic swirled through his thoughts, distracting him from the dirt trail he’d sworn he knew like the back of his hand. This ended up being a deadly error, as he missed the rock that was lying in wait, and ended up stumbling when he stepped on it. He pitched forwards, losing his balance as a sharp stab of pain shot through his foot. Tumbling to the ground, a feeling of terror and dread swelled inside of him. 

It was over. 

He was going to die. 

The person who’d been chasing him had caught up, and kneeled in front of him. He raised his head off the ground, pushing himself onto his hands and knees in a final attempt to get away. Before he was able to move further, the tip of a knife was pressed against his throat delicately, pressing slightly hard enough to draw a thin line of blood. Wide, fearful brown eyes flickered from the knife to the person wielding it, whose face was still split into a sick grin.

“W-Why would you do this? What did I ever do to you!?” His voice pierced through the silence of the forest, and his captor tilted his head slightly. 

“You? You never did anything specific, I suppose. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, that’s just how the world works.” The person responded, a faraway look to his eye. 

“Please, let me go! I won’t tell anyone, I promise!” He begged, blinking back another wave of tears. He was on the verge of hyperventilating now, and his knees trembled wildly, threatening to give up on him. 

“Tell me, have you ever killed another person?” His attacker questioned, still holding the knife firmly towards his jugular.

“N-No?” 

“Then you don’t understand, I _can’t_ let you go. The feeling of ending someone’s life is such a thrill of pleasure, the ultimate euphoria! Paired with what comes after, the temptation is simply too much to refuse.” They sighed, a bliss expression covering the terrifying grin they’d been sporting a few moments prior. 

He swallowed thickly, ignoring the prick of pain he got from the knife lodged against his throat. “What comes after? What are you talking about?” His captor smiled eerily, before shoving the knife until it was stabbed inside his throat, drowning out the gurgled sounds he’d tried to make, in case anyone was nearby. 

“Why, eating you, of course!” 

__________________________

“It’s getting kind of late, Suga. We really should go home, now.” Daichi murmured, placing another soft kiss against his boyfriend’s neck. 

Sugawara smiled, tilting his head slightly to allow more access. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go, Dai. I’ll walk you home.” He offered, smiling teasingly. Daichi rolled his eyes playfully. 

“We’re neighbours, babe.” 

Sugawara giggled, wrapping his arms around Daichi’s neck and pulling him into a long kiss. “Let me feel like a manly boyfriend, just this once.” He teased, playing with the dark brown hair around his nape. 

Daichi grinned. “Will you give me more kisses if I do?” Sugawara hummed, withdrawing his hands and hip-checking Daichi as he opened the door of the Janitor’s closet they’d been making out in for the past half an hour and stepped outside. Throwing a flirtatious smile over his shoulder, he winked at Daichi. 

“Maybe.” 

Daichi shook his head, laughing, and followed the silver haired boy into the hallway of their high school. 

The two of them had stayed late to finish a project for their fifth period English class, deciding to sneak off to the school’s notorious makeout spot once they’d finished. Neither of them regretted the decision, either. 

Once they’d stopped at their lockers and received their backpacks, the duo left the school and headed on their usual route to home. 

As they strolled down the worn dirt path, the two filled the silence of the evening with jokes and laughter, enjoying each other's company. 

Daichi was watching his boyfriend as he retold a story someone had told him in science class, about a combination of random chemicals and an alarming explosion, when the silver haired boy’s words died on his tongue. 

Sugawara was staring straight forward, his eyes saucers while his grip on Daichi’s hand tightened to the point where it was painful. 

“Ow, Suga, what’s wro-'' Daichi's eyes slid forwards to where Sugawara was currently staring at in horror, and forgot what he was saying. 

Laying on the pathway, a few steps in front of them, was the body of a boy they’d been friends with for a few years, Chikara Ennoshita. The corpse was drenched in blood, which was still pooling out of the spot where his arms should’ve been, replaced by empty space and twin gaping wounds on his shoulders. A deep gash in the throat made it abundantly clear what had killed him.

Sugawara’s knees buckled, and he started retching, the contents from inside his stomach splattering against the ground with a sickening thud.

Daichi felt himself begin to panic. Bile rose inside his throat, and he had to fight the urge to copy Sugawara’s movements, instead focusing on pulling his phone from the pocket of his grey pullover. Shakily unlocking it, he dialed nine one one. 

“Hello, this is nine one one, please state your emergency.” A woman’s calm voice rang out from his phone, making Sugawara pull himself off of the ground. 

“H-hello, my name is Daichi Sawamura. My boyfriend and I were walking home and we came across Ennoshita’s body. Somebody killed him! Please, send help quickly.” Daichi stuttered, trying to collect his thoughts. The panic was really starting to hit him, and he didn’t know how to handle the sight in front of him. 

“Where are you located? I’m dispatching police officers right now.” The operator assured, although the soothing voice sounded more fearful now.

Daichi opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He realised he was hyperventilating, but felt powerless to stop it. As his breaths quickened, he faintly recognized that the operator was saying something, but couldn’t process what she was saying.

Sugawara gently pried the phone from Daichi’s grip, who’d unknowingly began to clench the device until his knuckles had turned white. “Hello, I'm Sugawara Koushi, Daichi’s boyfriend. We’re about fifteen minutes down on the trail that most students take to get to school.” 

The operator said something, the words muffled against Sugawara’s ear, which was pressed on the phone. Sugawara spoke briefly with the woman, before turning to Daichi. “She wants us to stay on the phone until the police get here. Are you alright?” He asked, rubbing a soothing hand on Daichi’s back.

Daichi shook his head, unable to speak. His eyes were glued to the corpse, and Sugawara slid in front of him, forcing Daichi to look at him instead. “You’re okay, Daichi. Everything is going to be fine, just breathe.”

The words poured over Daichi like honey, warm and soothing. He felt himself relax, slowing down his breathing. He immediately felt better, and forced a small smile at his boyfriend. 

One of the things Daichi loved about Sugawara was how calming he was; always able to soothe anyone who was panicking, whether it was about missing homework, a sports game, or apparently, a dead body. 

“Thanks, Suga.” He mumbled, while Sugawara continued to rub circles on his back. The silver haired boy remained silent, staring the opposite direction of the corpse over Daichi’s shoulder, waiting for the telltale signs of police officers to come. 

What felt like an eternity later, they could hear the wails of police sirens, quickly followed by hurried footsteps heading towards them. 

Three police officers approached them, unable to hide their disgust when they spotted the body laying near the boys. The first cop walked up to them, while the two others went to inspect the body, murmuring to each other. 

“Hello, my name is Keishin Ukai. I’m the sheriff of Echo Creek’s police force. You’re Daichi Sawamura and Sugawara Koushi, correct?” The officer questioned, earning two nods from the lovers. 

“Yes, that’s us.” Sugawara answered.

“Alright, I’m gonna take you two down to the station for questioning, your parents have been informed of the situation and should arrive there soon.” Officer Ukai informed, gently leading them down the pathway, away from the corpse. 

The two boys were silent, and Sugawara couldn’t help but toss back one more glance at the body, shivering when he saw the empty look in his eyes.

__________________________

The trip to the station was quiet, with only a few radio calls from Officer Ukai’s coworkers breaking the silence filling the police car the two boys had been ushered into. 

Once they’d reached the police station, Sugawara and Daichi followed Officer Ukai inside, only to be swept up into the arms of their distraught parents. 

Sugawara’s father held him tightly, whispering a few words into his ear. His mother wasn’t there, as she hadn’t been around for most of his life, only speaking with him when he made the trip to visit her, which wasn’t as often as either of them wanted. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t love him, she just had a _unique_ problem that made her unable to leave her home. 

Daichi’s mother and father had wrapped him into a hug, his mother openly weeping while his father tried to soothe both of them at once. A pang of envy shot through Sugawara at the scene, but he forced himself to squash it. It wasn’t Daichi’s fault that Sugawara had an abnormal family, and there was no point in getting jealous. Jealousy wouldn’t fix his problems. 

“Are you alright?” his father asked, staring into his eyes.  
“Yeah. They want Dai and I to go in for questioning.” Sugawara nodded, stepping out from the comforting embrace. His father let him go, a worried expression covering his normally easygoing face. 

Sugawara walked over to Officer Ukai, who’d been patiently waiting for the families to finish their reunions. “I’ll go first, if that’s alright.” 

Officer Ukai placed a warm hand on his shoulder, guiding him back towards a small room down the hall. ‘You’re handling this pretty well, kid.” He commented, glancing down at him. 

Sugawara shot him a wry smile. “I’m good at pretending like I’m calm.” 

Even as he spoke, anxiety was coiled around inside his stomach, and he had to force himself not to think about the mutilated body he’d seen earlier. He couldn’t afford to spiral into panic, he was supposed to be the one who kept others calm, and Daichi needed him. 

Ukai raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. He opened the door to a room, gesturing for Sugawara to head inside. 

Stepping inside, Sugawara let his eyes wander around the room, soaking in the dull atmosphere. 

The room was square shaped, with plain grey walls and a dirty, white tiled floor. In the center of the room, was a small wooden table, with a chair on opposite sides. Other than that, it was completely empty, aside from a security camera in a corner, near the ceiling. The walls were devoid of any kind of decoration, also lacking any windows. 

_How boring._

Sugawara made his way to the nearest chair, quietly slipping onto it. 

“Do you need anything? Like some water?” Officer Ukai offered politely, making Sugawara turn back to face him. 

“I’m alright, thank you.” Sugawara answered, drumming his fingers against the table anxiously. A man entered the room just then, cutting off Ukai’s reply. 

“Hello, I’m Yasufumi Nekomata. I’ll be asking you a few questions about what happened earlier.” The older man explained, sliding into the seat in front of Sugawara. 

Officer Ukai left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. 

Sugawara watched him go, taking a deep breath to help himself to stay composed, and smiled politely at the interrogator.  
“Alright, what would you like to know?”

__________________________

It took an hour of answering questions, but eventually Sugawara was allowed to leave that dull room, and head back to the lobby. 

As he was walking there, he crossed paths with Daichi, who was on his way to begin his own interrogation. Daichi gave him a wobbly smile, pulling Sugawara into a quick hug. 

Sugawara gave him a tight squeeze, whispering into his ear. “You got this, Dai. You’ll be fine, so don’t worry.” He put all of his emotions and determination into his voice, watching as his boyfriend visibly loosened and took a deep breath. 

“Stay safe, okay?” Daichi replied, giving him a quick kiss. 

Sugawara pulled his lips into a smile. “You too.”

Stepping away from his boyfriend, Sugawara continued down the hall. Now that he was done with the questioning, he was free to go home with his father. A part of him wanted to wait until Daichi’s questioning was over, but the rest of him was completely exhausted, and he knew they’d be able to talk tomorrow, so he didn’t really entertain the thought of staying.

Sugawara walked up to his father, who draped an arm over his shoulders and steered him out to their car.

“Do you want to talk about it?” his father asked, unlocking the car and opening the passenger seat for him. 

Sugawara climbed inside, resting his hand on the door’s handle before glancing at his dad. “Not particularly.” He shut the door, slamming it slightly harder than normal. 

He rested his head against the cool glass of his window, allowing his gaze to drift over the police station. 

The sun had set by now, and the darkness of the night that normally soothed him, was now making him paranoid. The killer was out there somewhere, and would most likely be looking for their next victim. 

_What if they want to kill me or Daichi? What if they’re angry at us for calling the police? I don’t want to die! What if-_

“Koushi!” His father's yell broke him away from the thoughts that had begun to overtake him, making his chest swell with panic and his pulse skyrocket. 

Taking a shuddering breath, he looked at his father. “Y-Yeah?” He inwardly cursed at his stuttering, a bad habit he’d picked up when he got really nervous or scared.

“There’s nothing wrong with being scared, Koushi. You and Daichi experienced something really awful and traumatic, being afraid is a natural reaction. I’m going to find a good therapist, so you can get the help you need, and don’t worry about school. You can have as much time off as you need, I trust that you’ll be responsible enough to decide when you’re ready to go back on your own. What’s important now, is that you’re safe, and nothing bad is going to happen to you, do you understand me?” His father spoke softly but firmly, while starting up the car.

Sugawara nodded wordlessly, unable to find his voice. 

As they pulled out of the parking lot and headed home, Sugawara stared out his window, watching the trees that flew by alongside the road. It took a while, but eventually he was able to figure out what he wanted to say. 

“Can I visit Mom tomorrow?” He asked, his voice timid. 

Sugawara knew his parents didn’t get along as well as they did before having him, but they still respected each other, and tried not to let their differences hurt either of their relationships with him, which he really appreciated.

He hadn’t been able to see his mother for the past month, busy with the beginning of his junior year of high school. Homework and friends had filled most of his time, and he didn’t have a chance to slip away from the chaos to visit the soothing presence of his mom. 

“Of course, whatever you need, Koushi. Do you need me to drive you?” His father offered, giving him a side glance. 

Sugawara shook his head. “No, I can drive myself. Thanks for offering, though.” 

His father nodded in response, leaning to give Sugawara’s knee a comforting squeeze. 

The rest of the trip was silent, until his father switched on the radio, probably hoping it would relax Sugawara. Music had always been calming to him, and he greatly appreciated the effort. 

The soft tune drifted over him, gently pushing away the imagery from earlier that kept popping up in his brain. 

He felt himself sigh softly, relaxing back into his seat, and closed his eyes. Focusing on the quiet song that was whirling around him, he managed to push back his thoughts and focus on the future, instead of the past. 

Tomorrow he would be able to see his mother, and she’d know what to do. 

She always did.


	2. Friendly Competitions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh snap secrets being revealed 🙈

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @knimeuwu for beta reading <3

Hinata loved waking up early. 

The world always seemed more beautiful at dawn, with the rising sun sending soft rays of light cascading over the forest surrounding Echo Creek, the tiny town he’d grown up in. 

The birds would chirp good morning to him, and the brittle autumn leaves crunched delightfully under his feet as he made his way towards the meet up spot for him and his best friend, Tobio Kageyama. 

The two had actually been enemies for the majority of their lives, only learning to get along at the beginning of the school year, two months prior. They quickly established their own unique friendship, founded on friendly competition and a shared hatred for academics. Over the course of the last two months, they became inseparable, a duo that hated being apart from each other.

Right now, Hinata was running to the small clearing by the dirt path they always walked on to school together, determined to get there before Kageyama. He’d woken up fifteen minutes earlier than normal, so he was pretty confident that he’d win this time. 

Yesterday, Kageyama had beaten him there and bragged about it all day, and Hinata wanted to do the same to him. 

Hinata continued running, his feet pounding the ground as he kept an eye out for any sign of Kageyama nearby. 

Pleased to see that the taller boy wasn’t around, he grinned. 

The clearing was a small patch of grass, surrounded by trees and a small stream that bubbled quietly. The area was illuminated by a soft glow from the early morning sun, making it look slightly ethereal. 

Running over to the space, Hinata let out a whoop of victory. 

_I win!_

It took a few minutes, but eventually the telltale rusting leaves and pounding footsteps revealed that Kageyama had arrived. 

“HAH! I beat you! Suck on _that,_ Loseryama!” Hinata crowed, taunting the panting boy in front of him. 

Kageyama was bent over, resting his hands on his knees to support himself. “Piss off, you’re still a loser either way.” He grumbled, straightening himself up and adjusting the strap of his backpack on his shoulder. 

“Well, you got beaten by a loser then, which makes you a _double_ loser!” Hinata squaked in indignation, ducking to narrowly avoid the swat Kageyama had aimed towards his head. 

“Whatever, dumbass. Lets go, I want to get Suga’s help on last night’s science homework before school starts.” Kageyama declared, stepping away from the clearing and onto the dirt path. 

Hinata was quiet for a moment. 

“We had homework?” He echoed, his voice small. 

Kageyama snickered, shaking his head in disbelief. “You really _are_ an idiot, huh?”

Groaning, Hinata followed him onto the trail, walking beside the taller boy as they chatted, enjoying the peacefulness of their morning together. 

He made sure to sneak a few glances while Kageyama wasn’t looking, enjoying the sight.

The early morning sun made the taller boy seem to glow, giving him a softer, more ethereal appearance. 

_He’s gorgeous._

_I wonder when he’ll get the guts to ask me out?_

Kageyama may have been attractive, but he was also annoyingly dense. He’d never once seemed to catch on to the fact that Hinata was definitely into him, and sucked at hiding his longing stares when he thought Hinata wasn’t looking. 

Of course, Hinata could always make the first move, but where’s the fun in _that?_

Snickering to himself, Hinata got a suspicious look from Kageyama.

“What’s so funny?” Kageyama asked, nudging the shorter boy with his shoulder.

“You’re just really dumb sometimes.” Hinata replied with a smirk, ducking to avoid a well aimed slap to the head. 

“Says you, the guy who forgot that we had homework!” Kageyama snapped, huffing. 

Hinata couldn't hold back his bark of laughter. ‘Yeah yeah, who cares?” he drawled, waving a lazy hand in the air dismissively. 

Hinata pretended not to notice the fond glance that slipped his way, but didn’t stop the smile that formed when he saw it.

Their walk was eventually cut short, stopped by the bright yellow lines of police tape stretched across the path, blocking their way to school. The duo looked at each other, unsure of what to do from here on. 

Luckily, the area was swarming with cops, and one of them jogged towards the two once she spotted them. 

“This area is closed off for investigation, I’d appreciate it if you two found a different way to get to school.” The police officer informed, giving them an apologetic look. 

Hinata jumped in place, excited. “What happened?” He asked eagerly, peering around the lady to try to see what was up ahead. All he could see was a large, dark stain on the ground farther up ahead, surrounded by different police officers.

The cop in front of them ignored the question. “What are your names?” She questioned, pulling out a small notepad that already had several scribbled names scrawled onto it. 

“Why?” Kageyama gave her a wary look. 

“Safety procedures. We need to take note of anyone who comes to the crime scene. Now, what are your names?” The lady pressed, giving Kageyama a watchful stare. 

“I’m Shoyou Hinata, this is Tobio Kageyama!” Hinata answered honestly, confused as to why Kageyama was reluctant to answer. They were innocent, so they had nothing to worry about, right?

The officer nodded, jotting down their names quickly. “Alright, you’re free to leave now. Thank you for your cooperation.” 

Hinata smiled widely at her, before dragging Kageyama away. They decided to take the longer route to school, walking down the streets nearby. Most people didn’t take this specific path, but Hinata had a feeling that it’d become increasingly popular now that everyone’s normal route was unavailable. 

“I wonder what happened, do you think there was a drug bust or something?” Hinata pondered, glancing at the brooding boy beside him, who had his hands shoved into his pockets. 

“I don’t know. Maybe someone was killed or something. There were a lot of cops, I don’t think they’d send that many out for a drug bust.” Kageyama reasoned, his face scrunched as he thought about it. 

Hinata frowned. “I hope not. Maybe someone got attacked by a monster!” 

“A monster?” Kageyama echoed, looking even more confused.

Hinata shook his head vigorously, eyes wide. “Yeah, like a zombie! I’m sure there’s zombies around here somewhere.” He declared, looking around suspiciously. 

“You really think so?” Kageyama shot a wary glance towards the houses spread alongside the road they were walking on. 

“Totally! But don’t worry, we could definitely outrun a zombie.” Hinata assured matter of factly, puffing out his chest with confidence.  
Kageyama nodded in agreement, and the two spent the rest of their commute discussing strategies to defeat any potential zombies they might come across. 

________________________________

Once they had reached school, Hinata and Kageyama quickly found most of their friends waiting for them out front, clustered in a small group on the grass. 

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were sitting right next to each other as usual, Tsukishima scrolling through his phone while Yamaguchi watched, sipping from his water bottle. 

Nishinoya was talking to someone on his phone, his voice loud and animated among the sleepy people surrounding him. He was most likely talking to his new boyfriend, Asahi. The two had gotten together over the summer, but Asahi was being forced to spend this year away, since his parents had decided to move in with Asahi’s grandmother, who’d fallen ill. 

Asahi’s aunt and uncle were going to move in next year, which would allow him and his family to return to Echo Creek in time for his senior year of high school.

Nishinoya had been devastated that he’d had to leave, but understood the importance of it, vowing to call him everyday and facetime every night until Asahi returned home.

He seemed to be keeping his promise, as he was stretched out on the grass chattering away. 

Hinata was surprised to realise that Daichi and Sugawara were missing, as they tended to be responsible enough to arrive on time, if not earlier.

“Where’s Suga and Daichi?” Hinata asked, while Kageyama nodded, looking around the courtyard. Tsukishima shrugged, not bothering to look up from his phone. 

Yamaguchi sent him a soft smile. “I’m sure they’ll show up soon. It’s not like them to skip school.” The freckled boy assured, looking around for any sight of the couple.

A thought crossed Hinata’s mind, and he paled slightly. “What if they had something to do with that crime scene? Do you think they might be hurt?” 

Kageyama’s eyes widened. “The zombie must’ve gotten them.” His voice was a horrified whisper, face distraught. 

This time, Tsukishima actually looked up at them from his spot down on the grass. “What in the actual hell are you guys talking about?” 

“There’s a crime scene down on the path we take to school, although I suppose you wouldn’t know that, since your parents drive you and Yamaguchi to school everyday. Kageyama and I think there’s a zombie hiding somewhere, and that it attacked someone!” Hinata explained, while Kageyama continued to keep an eye out for the supposed monster. 

Tsukishima shook his head in disbelief. “Everyday, you guys prove to be even dumber than I’d imagine you are. Please tell me you’re joking.” 

“C’mon! Are you seriously telling me you don’t believe any of the rumors? This town is full of supernatural beings, everyone knows that!” Hinata argued, sticking his tongue out as Tsukishima rolled his eyes. 

“Those are _rumors._ There’s no actual proof.”

Hinata pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “You’re so lame, Saltyshima!” 

Kageyama’s phone buzzed.

While Kageyama checked his phone, frowning and typing something back to whomever had messaged him, Hinata continued his bickering with Tsukishima. 

“I just happen to have more than two braincells, it's not my fault you can’t comprehend that.” Tsukishima sniffed, looking unimpressed as usual. 

“Apparently not, if you can’t see what’s right in front of y-”

Hinata’s retort was cut off by a gentle nudge from Yamaguchi’s foot. “Let’s just agree to disagree, yeah?” The freckled boy said softly, glancing between the two. 

Shooting one last glare at Tsukishima, Hinata nodded. Everyone tended to have a hard time arguing with the mild mannered boy, because he was always kind and tried to keep the peace as often as possible. 

“Suga and Daichi aren’t coming to school today. They probably won’t be back for at least a few days.” Even without looking at him, Hinata could hear the frown in Kageyama’s voice. 

This seemed to pique Tsukishima’s interest, his scowl slipped away, replaced by a look of mild curiosity. “Why not?” 

Kageyama’s eyes widened as he read the texts. “They were the ones who called the police last night. They found the crime scene while walking home, apparently someone was murdered.” 

Hinata and Yamaguchi paled significantly.  
“Someone was _murdered?_ ”

“ _They_ found the body?”

Hinata and Yamaguchi spoke at the same time, glancing at each other. Even Tsukishima seemed to be in shock. 

Nishinoya had apparently been eavesdropping on the conversation while simultaneously talking to his boyfriend, and hastily ended the call, intrigued by the sudden heaviness in the air.

“Maybe it’s a good thing asahi isn’t here right now, i don’t think he’d be able to stomach something like this.” Nishinoya murmured, deep in thought. 

Kageyama looks horrified. “Oh my god,” he whispered, turning to face Hinata. “You were right, there _is_ a zombie.”

Tsukishima facepalmed. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”

________________________________

Sugawara didn’t end up sleeping that night.

He spent the entire night tossing and turning, trying to forget the gruesome scenery he’d stumbled upon earlier, to no avail. 

Even music couldn’t lull him into the sweet release of unconsciousness, which was new. Normally the right song would always manage to allow him to drift off, no matter how stressed or worried he’d been beforehand. 

It was around 7 A.M when he gave up, deciding to head to the kitchen and make himself a very needed dose of caffeine. 

As he padded through the quietness of his house, he wondered what to do. 

Sugawara knew he could afford to miss school for a few days, but that couldn’t undo the knot of unease that ached in his chest. 

He’d literally wandered onto a _murder_ scene earlier, and even worse- he hadn’t been able to protect Daichi from the horrifying sight. 

Seeing his boyfriend crumble under the panic had shaken Sugawara out of his horror, snapping him back to reality. He could cope with that on his own time, his priority would always be his friends, _especially_ Daichi.

_I should’ve done more, been better._

_He needed me, and all I could come up with was some goddamn pats to the back?_

_No! I’m not doing this stupid hero complex bullshit._

_Grow the hell up, Koushi._

Fixing himself a cup of coffee, he made his way to the small wooden table in the dining room. 

The room was small and cozy, decorated with several different plants spread out, a few on the large rectangular window beside the table, and others strewn along the shelves that lined a wall. The shelves were filled with random knick knacks and old books, ones neither of them had read for years.

The dark hardwood floors were adorned with a grey shag carpet, matching the light grey colored walls. 

Dark brown cabinets lined another wall, filled with pots, pans, and other cutlery. There was just enough space left for an open doorway, connecting the quaint room to their kitchen.

Sipping his coffee, Sugawara thought about his plans to spend the day with his mother, making a mental note to send a text to his friends, letting them know about the situation.

He knew his father was taking the day off from work, determined to find a good therapist for his son, so the car would be free for him to use. 

Sugawara gulped down the rest of his coffee, wincing as the hot liquid scalded his throat. 

He scribbled a short note, letting his dad know where he’d headed off to, even though he knew it was unnecessary. 

Quickly stopping by his room to get dressed, Sugawara grabbed his phone from his nightstand. He sent a quick text to Daichi, asking how he was feeling. 

Slipping his phone into his pocket, Sugawara pulled on his shoes and grabbed the extra pair of car keys his father had given him when he got his license, Sugawara headed outside to the car.

The car was old, a beat up pickup truck that his father loved dearly. The truck held so many memories that the sentimental value outweighed the scuffed black paint and wheezing air conditioning. 

Climbing inside, Sugawara put the keys in the ignition and started heading back into town, keeping an eye out to prevent running into any of his friends. He couldn’t tell any of them where he was headed, because as far as any of them knew, his mother wasn’t around anymore. 

He’d told them all that his mother had ditched his father right after he was born, so they wouldn’t push the topic. It wasn’t the most honest method, but he couldn't exactly tell them the _truth._

A few people at school knew the real reason she wasn’t around, his cousin, Tooru Oikawa, and Tooru’s closest friends and boyfriend. Tooru had claimed that he was unable to lie to them, and Sugawara knew that none of them would let the secret slip.  
Besides, Sugawara knew a few of their own secrets, so they didn’t have much choice but to stay quiet.

Sugawara drove right past the school, heading towards the hidden trail he always snuck onto when visiting his mother, to avoid running into anyone who’d wonder what he was up to.

Parking in a secluded clearing, Sugawara turned off the ignition, and fished his phone out of his pocket. 

It was almost 8 A.M now, so he sent a text to Kageyama explaining the situation, and why Daichi and him were going to be absent. Shoving the device back into his pocket, Sugawara hopped out of the truck, carefully shutting the door to avoid making any loud noise, so nobody nearby would come investigating.  
Taking a deep breath, the silver haired boy took a step into the woods. 

Sugawara walked slowly, observing the foliage around him for any signs of life. Pleased to see that the only life around him belonged to plants and a few woodland creatures, he increased his pace slightly. 

He was less worried about getting caught now, and more anxious to reach the soothing presence of his mother once again. 

As he walked, he checked his phone to check his messages. 

He had a reply from Kageyama, telling him to keep an eye out for a zombie. Slightly confused but even more amused, he scrolled to see that Daichi had also replied. 

_Captain Thunderthighs: I’m doing better, but i wasn’t really able to sleep well. Based off of your early texts, I’m assuming you weren’t able to sleep either?_

Smiling slightly at the creative name he’d given Daichi’s contact, Sugawara sent back his response. 

_Suga: Yeah, I’ve definitely had better nights. Wanna meet up tomorrow?_

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Sugawara realised he’d finally reached his destination. 

He was standing on the bank of the Echo River, the river that was dangerously close to his own school, and known throughout town for the mysterious voices that seemed to hypnotise those passing by, drawing them towards the deep waters.

Standing with his hands casually placed in his pockets, Sugawara made eye contact with the beautiful women sitting on a smooth boulder, who’s grey hair matched the glittering silver scales adorning the lithe tail that laid where her legs should’ve been. 

“Hey, Mom.”


	3. Mama's Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @knimeuwu for beta reading <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the divider thingies aren't centered, I'm trying to figure out how to make that work bc they seem to move every single time I copy and paste anything. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy <3

Tsukishima hated his Algebra class. 

It wasn’t because he was bad at math, of course. He excelled at academics, and always had a relatively easy time solving the equations.

It wasn’t because he hated his teacher, either. 

Mr. Takeda was quiet and polite, albeit a bit odd. Tsukishima didn’t mind, as long as it didn’t affect his teaching. 

No, it was because of the two idiots who sat behind him, who never shut up. 

Hinata and Kageyama had been assigned to sit near him, with the ginger directly behind Tsukishima and Kageyama to Hinata’s left. 

“Now, x is the slope, and to find that you have to take y and..” Takeda’s lecturing was interrupted by the poke of a pencil in Tsukishima’s back.

Gritting his teeth, Tsukishima ignored the idiot behind him, once again focusing on dutifully taking notes on the lesson. He always made sure to take neat and precise notes, because Yamaguchi struggled with math, and would often ask Tsukishima to tutor him. Tsukishima liked having notes to help him explain the steps in math, and he knew Yamaguchi appreciated the effort. 

There was another poke in his back, this time more urgent. 

“Tsukki! What the hell is Mr. Takeda explaining? I fell asleep and missed the first half of his lecture.” Hinata whispered, accentuating his words with another jab of his pencil. 

“Don’t call me that.” Tsukishima replied automatically, before inwardly cursing himself out for answering in the first place. Now that Hinata knew he’d gotten the blond’s attention, he’d never shut up. 

“Fine, Saltyshima! But can I copy your notes later, or something?” Hinata whispered again, with a pleading tone. 

Tsukishima ignored him. 

He felt another poke to his back. 

Eye twitching, he whispered back. “Copy Kageyama’s notes. Leave me out of your stupidity.”

Hinata huffed. “I would, but his handwriting is too messy. Plus, he’s asleep right now. He fell asleep before I did.” 

Tsukishima glanced back, noting that Hinata wasn’t lying.  
Kageyama was out cold, his cheek pressed against the desk and snoring quietly. His notebook wasn’t even open, let alone filled with notes. 

Sighing, Tsukishima rubbed the bridge of his nose, before adjusting his glasses. “Fine, but only if you shut up.” Hinata cheered quietly, before going silent. 

_He better not be going back to sleep._

Sparing a quick glance behind him, Tsukishima saw that Hinata was indeed going back to his nap, resting his chin on the desk with his eyes closed. The ginger was making duck lips, balancing a pencil on top of them precariously. 

Tsukishima’s eye twitched, and he swore to himself that he would never help that idiot out again. 

________________________________

Thankfully, Tsukishima’s classes flew by quickly, and before he knew it, it was time for lunch.

He found his way to his group’s normal table, settling down beside Yamaguchi, who shot him a welcoming smile. 

“Okay, so today’s topic of discussion is supernatural beings!” Hinata exclaimed, chewing on the ham sandwich he’d brought from home. Kageyama nodded in agreement, sipping on his usual milk. 

Nishinoya paused from his eating, a large piece of chicken suspended in front of his mouth. “Which ones?” Resuming his meal, he took a large bite of the chicken thigh. 

Tsukishima glanced at the smaller boy’s lunch, unsurprised to see that it contained exactly zero vegetables or fruits. How Nishinoya survived on seemingly just meat was a miracle in itself.

Hinata pouted slightly. “Well, it _was_ going to be about zombies, but based off of the rumors I heard today, I don’t think a zombie was the killer. So, we decided on werewolves for today!” 

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. 

“What rumors?” Yamaguchi piped up, taking a long sip from his water bottle. 

“Apparently Matsukawa’s dad is a cop, and told him about the case. Now the information is being spread around the school. I was talking to Yachi in Biology, and she said that Kiyoko said that Hanamaki said that Matsukawa said that the body was found missing it’s two arms, and that the throat was cut open. It was super messed up.” Hinata explained, taking another bite from his sandwich.

“You think a _werewolf_ killed them?” Nishinoya asked, looking slightly green. He set down his half eaten chicken.

“I mean, it makes the most sense. Why would a human take the arms?” Hinata shrugged, chewing.

Tsukishima had to admit he had a point, but _werewolves?_ Really?

“You seem awfully calm for someone who’s discussing a homicide.” Tsukishima said, taking a bite of his own sandwich. Hinata looked confused. 

“Well, I can’t have my emotions influencing my investigation, duh.” The ginger informed, like that was obvious.

“Who was the victim?” Yamaguchi questioned.

“Nobody knows. Sugawara didn’t tell me, and the police haven’t released the name yet. They’ll probably do that later today.” Kageyama declared, sipping his milk. Hinata nodded in agreement.

“Anyways, back to werewolves!”

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. 

________________________________

“Hello, Koushi. I’ve missed you, darling.” 

Sugawara’s mother slid off of her rock, swimming to the edge of the river, right next to her son’s feet. Sugawara sat down, not in the mood to join her in the water today.

Normally, he’d have brought swim trunks, and slipped into the river to lounge with his mother on one of the many rocks Sirens preferred to lay on. He didn’t have a tail, of course. Only female Sirens had tails, and lived in the water. Female Sirens had a diet of fish, and only lured men to the river if they were bored or looking for a future partner. 

Male Sirens had legs, and weren’t able to breathe underwater. Sugawara _was_ able to hold his breath for an impressive amount of time, but he didn’t know if that was related to his Siren genes. He also had the gift of persuasion, as did all other sirens, male or female. This allowed him to use his voice to convince others to listen to him, whether it’s to calm down, feel confident, or follow him to a watery grave. 

His power was the reason he was so good at consoling others, and keeping their moods stable. 

The only ones his persuasion didn’t work on were other sirens, but it was difficult to use it on supernaturals. 

Yes, there were more supernatural beings in Echo Creek besides Sirens. Sugawara didn’t know who they were specifically, but he’d always had his suspicions. He knew there were a few werewolf packs, and he knew that one of the alphas was Hajime Iwaizumi, his cousin’s boyfriend. 

Sugawara’s cousin, Tooru Oikawa, was also a male Siren. He happened to use his powers differently from Sugawara, using his charm to gain popularity and become Student Council President, giving him a hefty amount of power over the school. He’d quickly realised that his voice never seemed to work on Iwaizumi, and figured out that the latter was another supernatural. 

Hanamaki and Matsukawa were also supernaturals, an unlikely combination of a vampire and another werewolf. They were also in on the big secret, and knew about Sugawara’s mother. Of course, Oikawa had the same dilemma, having to sneak around to meet up with his own mom, Sugawara’s aunt.

Sugawara wasn’t surprised that his cousin’s closest friends were all nonhuman, the supernaturals typically seemed to unconsciously gravitate towards each other. 

Pushing away his thoughts about his cocky cousin, Sugawara bent to allow his mother to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Sorry I haven’t visited you much, school’s been taking up all my free time lately.”

His mother smiled, and waved her hand dismissively. “No worries. Something’s troubling you, I can see it in your eyes, Koushi. What happened to you, darling?” She ran her fingers through his hair, voice soft.

“Dai and I were walking home last night,” Sugawara swallowed thickly, and his mother patted his head encouragingly. “We found a body, Mom. It was horrible, someone mutilated it and there was blood everywhere, it was terrifying.” 

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry you had to see something like that. Do they know who did it?” His mother soothed, stroking Sugawara’s silky grey hair. 

Sugawara leaned into the touch, appreciating the comfort. “No, whoever did it is still out there.” He was scared, and he knew that his mother could hear it in his voice. 

“Your father and I will protect you, okay? I’ll ask around and see if anyone saw anything.” she assured, her warm brown eyes looking into Sugawara’s scared ones. 

“Thanks, Mom. I’ve missed you.” Sugawara said quietly, glancing at his hands. His mother pulled him into a tight hug, and the water soaking his shirt didn’t bother him at all. They stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence. 

Once they’d pulled apart, his mother smirked. “Now, tell me more about this ‘Daichi’. I’m dying to meet the boy who was lucky enough to snag my Koushi’s heart.” 

‘Mom! I haven’t even told him about me being a Siren yet. Be patient for once, woman!” Sugawara exclaimed, turning red. 

His mother grinned. “Patience is for losers. Once you’re ready to tell him, you better bring him to meet me afterwards.” 

As if on cue, Sugawara’s phone buzzed from inside his pocket. 

Drying off his hands on his pants, he fished the device out. There was a reply from Daichi, answering his text from earlier. 

_Captain Thunderthighs: Yeah, I can pick you up around noon? I miss you :(_

A bashful smile spread across his face, and he quickly sent back a reply. 

_Suga: That works for me, I miss you more ;(_

“Is that him?” Sugawara’s mother’s teasing voice tore his attention from his phone, and he felt himself go red. 

_”Moooom,_ stop trying to embarrass me! You have literally nothing to gain from this.” Sugawara whined, pocketing his phone. 

His mother smiled brightly. “It brings me great joy, what more could I possibly gain?”

“Ugh, you’re so lame.” Sugawara laughed. 

“Respect your elders, loser. I thought I raised you better than this.” His mother sighed dramatically, wiping away a fake tear. 

Sugawara grinned. He’d really missed this. 

________________________________

Tsukishima had tried to tune out most of their lunch conversation, only listening when Yamaguchi mentioned something. 

The conversation had gone from werewolves to fairies, to zombie theories (“What if zombies actually eat human arms, and the brain part was a myth?”), and eventually back the actual investigation. 

The others had tossed out several ideas of what sort of monsters would take the arms and leave the rest of the body. At one point, Hinata had suggested some type of hybrid killer reptilian and human combo, and it was then that Tsukishima decided with absolute certainty that the ginger had no more than two brain cells.

Nishinoya had suggested vampires, and Yamaguchi had suggested wendigos. 

After a ten minute explanation on what a wendigo was, Kageyama pointed out that it would’ve just dragged the body with it, instead of ditching everything but the arms. 

Frustrated and out of ideas, the group gave up and decided to revisit the topic after school. 

Now that school had ended, they were back into it, tossing up more and more ridiculous theories. 

“I’m telling you guys, it was definitely a vampire!” Nishinoya exclaimed, folding his arms over his chest. The group was heading outside the school, walking towards their hang out spot, an old diner that the majority of their school also hung out at. 

“That doesn’t make any sense, there weren’t even any bite marks! And why would a vampire need the arms?” Yamaguchi pointed out. 

“There was a lot of blood everywhere though, maybe they cut off the arms to collect blood that way, to avoid detection.” Kageyama pondered, while Nishinoya nodded excitedly.

“What do you think, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi asked, turning to face him. 

Tsukishima shrugged, not really caring in particular. “I don’t know why you’d think it was a vampire when there were exactly no signs of one. It was just some psycho doing crazy stuff for fun.”

“Exactly! It looks more like a cannibal or something, than a vampire.” Yamaguchi nodded, while Nishinoya pouted.

“It was definitely not done by a regular old human. Yamaguchi, can I have some of your water? I’m kinda thirsty.” Hinata asked, glancing at the water bottle Yamaguchi carried around with him. 

“Sorry, it’s empty. Besides, I don’t want anyone’s germs on it, no offense.” Yamaguchi explained, shaking the bottle to show there was no liquid inside. Nobody was that surprised by the last statement, as Yamaguchi tended to be a bit of a germaphobe. 

“That’s okay, I’ll get something from the diner! Anyways, I think we should solve this case, because the police won’t be able to, since it was done by something nonhuman.” Hinata declared, earning nods from Kageyama and Nishinoya. 

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, it sounds dangerous. We should probably leave it to the professionals.” Yamaguchi hesitated, looking uncertain. 

“I think it’s just plain stupid, but that’s no surpise, considering you three thought of it.” Tsukishima said dryly, only to be ignored. 

“Don’t worry, Yamaguchi! We’ll solve this case and then become heroes!” Hinata assured, grinning. Nishinoya gave Tsukishima and Yamaguchi each a hearty slap on the back. 

“All we gotta do is get Daichi and Suga in on it, and then we’ll be golden!” 

Tsukishima sighed. 

Yamaguchi elbowed him gently, and gave him an uneasy smile. “Sorry Tsukki, but I don’t think they’re gonna give up on this. Might as well let them tire themselves out.” 

“Unfortunately, that seems to be our only choice.” Tsukishima sighed, watching as the other three argued over names for their quote on quote ‘detection team’. 

“How about the ‘Crows Reporting All Perpetrators’? It sounds fancy, and a flock of crows is called a murder, so it fits the theme!” Hinata suggested, as the group walked into the diner, sitting at their usual spot in the back corner booth.

“That literally spells out ‘C.R.A.P’, dumbass.” Kageyama sighed, rolling his eyes.

Tsukishima snorted. 

Nishinoya snickered. “What about the ‘Undercover Crow Detectives’? It’s also a crow pun, and doesn’t have a _crappy_ acronym.” He suggested, laughing at his own pun. 

“That’s perfect! I vote for that name, what about you guys?” Hinata asked, looking at the others for confirmation. 

Kageyama shrugged. “Why not, it beats C.R.A.P, that’s for sure.”

Hinata scowled. “Shut up, Bakeyama! At least I contributed.” 

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi glanced at each other, and sighed in synch. “Sure. I don’t care either way, this whole thing is dumb.” Tsukishima answered wearily, already tired of the whole idea.

“Yeah, I’m fine with whatever, and I’m sure Daichi and Suga won’t care.” Yamaguchi added, earning a thumbs up from Nishinoya. 

“Hell yeah! We’re now officially the Undercover Crow Detectives!” He whooped, earning a glare from a passing waiter. 

The group spent the next half an hour debating over their next course of action. Nishinoya wanted to break into the police station and steal files, Hinata wanted to sneak onto the crime scene, Kageyama wanted to go home and take a nap, and Yamaguchi suggested that they wait for Sugawara and Daichi to come back, and see what information they had. 

In the end, Yamaguchi’s idea ended up winning. Nishinoya reluctantly abandoned his plans of breaking and entering, when Tsukishima threatened to tell his parents. 

“How soon do you think they'll come back?” Kageyama wondered.

Hinata shrugged. “A few days, probably? They won’t want to miss very much school.”

Yamaguchi cleared his throat. “Before you guys pester them for details, remember that they saw something genuinely traumatizing, and might not want to think about it. If they say no, don’t push for answers, alright?” 

Tsukishima nodded in agreement. The plan was stupid, and he didn’t want to end up hurting the two even worse than they already were.

“Yeah, Suga and Daichi come first. If they don’t want to be a part of the U.C.D, then we won’t force them to.” Nishinoya nodded, his expression serious. 

Hinata and Kageyama nodded in unison. 

“What do we do if they don’t want to talk about it? How do we start our investigation?” Hinata questioned, brows furrowed as he tried to come up with a plan.

Nishinoya gave Hinata a confused look. “Isn’t it obvious?” 

“What?”

“We’ll break into the police station! We can force Tsukki to come with us, so he can’t snitch without getting in trouble with us, it’s perfect!” Nishinoya whooped, pretending not to notice the sharp glare Tsukishima sent him. 

“Uh, maybe there’s a better way-” Yamaguchi’s attempt at reason was cut off by Kageyama’s question. 

“If they don’t believe that a supernatural being did it, then how is anything of theirs supposed to help us?” 

Nishinoya looked at Kageyama the way Tsukishima normally did, an expression caught between _’are you kidding me?’_ and _’I’m genuinely disappointed in you’_. “They’ll still have information about the crime scene, and files on the body and all that stuff. It can help us figure out what killed the victim.”

“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” Kageyama nodded. 

“Alright, that concludes our very first meeting of the U.C.D! Let’s meet up again tomorrow at lunch.” Hinata declared, grinning proudly. 

“We eat lunch together everyday anyways, dumbass.” Kageyama rolled his eyes.

Tsukishima watched quietly as the two began to squabble. 

_Those two seriously need to get a room._

Glancing sideways at Yamaguchi, Tsukishima bit back a sigh.

_I guess I really can’t talk, though._


	4. And So It Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Me originally planning to make Oikawa a super small background character vs. my obsession of him and lowkey being a kinnie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @knimeuwu for beta reading! <3

Sugawara and Daichi were back in school by the end of the week.

They’d spent their time off going to therapy appointments, hanging out together and trying to forget about that night, and Sugawara had even snuck off to see his mother a few more times. 

Now, he was holding Daichi’s hand, walking with him to their school. 

They walked in silence, trying to prepare themselves for what awaited them. Sugawara tried not to think of what had happened last time they had walked like this together. 

As the crisp Autumn leaves crunched beneath their feet, Sugawara finally found it in himself to speak. “You know, everyone’s going to be asking questions about it when we get there.”

Daichi blew out a short puff of air. “Yeah, I know. Are you ready for that?”

“I think so.” 

They were approaching the school now, close enough to spot their friends lounging on the grass out front. 

“By the way, thanks for helping me calm down when I called nine one one. You really helped me, I really appreciated that.” Daichi said softly, kicking a small pebble.

Sugawara’s heart melted. “Speaking of that, there’s something I need to tell y-”

“Daichi! Suga!” Hinata’s shout cut him off, and the ginger barreled into them, wrapping the couple into a tight hug. Sugawara sighed inwardly, but couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.

“Hey, Hinata. What’s up?” Sugawara greeted casually, patting the ginger mop of hair in front of him. Daichi laughed lightly, patting Hinata’s back.

“We really really missed you two! How are you feeling?” Hinata exclaimed, running his hand through his disheveled hair. Sugawara and Daichi exchanged a look.

_No questions about it? Something must be going on._

“We’re fine, Hinata. What’ve you guys been up to?” Daichi answered, raising an eyebrow.

Hinata looked conflicted, thinking over his answer as they walked up to the rest of the group. “I don’t know if I can tell you. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.” He explained, glancing at the others for support.

“It depends on how comfortable you are with talking about what happened.” Nishinoya informed, giving them a solemn stare.

Sugawara and Daichi exchanged yet another glance. 

“You can talk about it, we’ll be fine.” Sugawara assured, letting his voice melt away the tension that had formed between them.

Hinata perked considerably at that. “We want to solve the case! The killer is definitely something supernatural, so I don’t think the police will be able to catch them. We can figure out who it is by ourselves. Will you two help us? You don’t have to, but it’d really help!” 

“Something..supernatural?” Sugawara echoed, hoping the anxiety that had coiled around his insides wasn’t showing. 

_Now that I think about it, it does kind of make sense._

_This could be a huge problem, I’ll have to figure out who it is without being found out myself._

“Yeah, like a vampire, or something.” Nishinoya said, giving Sugawara an odd look.

_Stay calm, I need to act normal._

“I’ll help, I don’t think it’ll actually work, but we can at least try.” Daichi shrugged, glancing at Sugawara. 

Pasting on a smile, Sugawara forced himself to nod. “Sure, why not.”

Nishinoya and Hinata whooped, and even Kageyama looked excited. Yamaguchi looked anxious, eyes darting around as if he expected the killer to pop out at any moment. Tsukishima looked indifferent, as usual.

“Welcome to the Undercover Crow Detectives, or U.C.D for short. Do you two really believe in supernatural beings?” Hinata questioned, looking at the couple with wide brown eyes.

“Yeah, I think they could exist. I don’t know if there are any here, or if the murder was done by one of them, but I definitely think they’re out there,” Daichi decided, before turning to Sugawara. “What about you?”

Sugawara swallowed thickly. “I guess, yeah.” He shrugged, trying to keep his tone light. 

“Perfect! We can go over everything at lunch, since class is about to start,” Nishinoya declared, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder. “See you guys then!”

As they all separated to go to their classes, Sugawara shared one last look with Daichi. He could practically hear what his boyfriend was thinking, because the exact same thing was running through his own mind.

_What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?_

_________________________________

Hinata was known to be outgoing, and friendly to anyone who happened to cross paths with him.

Times like this, his extroverted nature could be extremely helpful, as it made it incredibly easy to get information.

He was currently sitting in his second period Biology class, right next to Hitoka Yachi, a friend of his who happened to have a few connections with important students in their school. 

Yachi was the co-captain of the cheerleading squad, second in command to her girlfriend, Shimizu Kiyoko, the captain. Both were known throughout the school for being beautiful and smart, which led to them becoming extremely popular. 

Because of her popularity, Yachi had friends who _knew_ things, things that Hinata needed to know himself. 

“Hey, Yachi? Have you heard anything new?” Hinata whispered, keeping an eye on the teacher in the front of the classroom, who had been droning on and on for the entire class period.

Yachi seemed to think for a moment, her nose scrunched slightly as she tried to recollect her thoughts. “I don't think so, but you should talk to Oikawa. He knows pretty much everything that goes on around here. If you need information, he’s your guy.” 

Hinata thought this over. He’d never really spoken to Oikawa personally, always having been too intimidated to approach. However, he had seen Sugawara speak to him on a couple occasions, and Nishinoya seemed to be on friendly terms with Iwaizumi, so he was sure that he could work it out somehow.

“Thanks, Yachi. I owe you one.” Hinata whispered, flashing her a grin and a thumbs up. 

Yachi shook her head, waving her hand dismissively. ‘No, it’s fine, really! I’m glad I was able to help.” Giving Hinata a soft smile, she turned back towards the teacher, focusing on the lesson once more. 

Hinata himself had long since given up on paying attention, deciding to try to figure out just what had killed Chikara Ennoshita.

He’d learned who the victim was earlier that week, when the police finally released more details of the case on the news, urging locals to stay inside their houses at night, desperate to prevent another murder. 

The news of Chikara Ennoshita’s death had spread throughout the town like wildfire. His name fell from people’s lips in hushed whispers, condolences dripping with pity murmured to his family, who had begun to shut themselves inside of their home, doing whatever they could do to avoid the stares that bore into them with every passing second.

Rumors had begun floating through the halls at school, outlandish theories as to who would have a motive to kill such a calm and friendly boy, a boy who had seemingly no enemies.

Their group had an unspoken rule not to bring up Ennoshita’s name around Daichi and Sugawara until they were sure it would be okay, so they avoided talking about him that morning, determined to let Daichi or Sugawara bring it up first.

None of them had ever been very close with Ennoshita, but the brunet had always been friendly towards Hinata, loaning him several pencils over the course of the first month of school. Ennoshita had always been calm, but never hesitated to scold Hinata when he noticed him napping through his classes. The brunet had often reminded him of Daichi, so his death hit a little too close to home. 

Hinata had cried that night, and even though none of them talked about it, he had a feeling that he wasn’t the only one who’d done so.

Hinata mindlessly tapped his pencil on his desk, chewing on his lip thoughtfully. 

_Who would have a vendetta against Ennoshita?_

The answer was simple: nobody. 

There _couldn’t_ have been anybody. Ennoshita got along with everyone, and avidly avoided any sort of drama between peers. This very habit was what had prevented him from becoming a part of the popular clique, where drama was unavoidable.

He was a well liked guy, and Hinata couldn’t think of a single reason why anybody would hate him, especially enough to murder him so visciously. 

_So why kill him?_

_Was it simply the most convenient option?_

_Come to think of it, why was Ennoshita at school that late? He should've been at home by then, what prompted him to be at school so late?_

Unable to come up with any answers, Hinata decided to ask Oikawa about it. If anyone knew, it would be the Student Council President, who always seemed to know everything going on through the halls of Echo Creek High.

The bell rang, signaling that class was over and that it was time for lunch.

Hinata smiled. 

_Perfect timing._

_________________________________

“Hey babe, are you alright? You’ve been looking paler than normal today.” 

Daichi’s voice startled Suga, who’d been lost in his thoughts for the past few minutes, while the two walked to lunch together.

Suga’s steps faltered for a moment, surprise flickering across his face. He should’ve known that Daichi would be able to see through his facade, he always knew when something was bothering him.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m okay. I guess I’ve just been a bit spacey today.” Suga laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Daichi shot him a sideways glance, looking unconvinced. “Are you sure? Maybe you should’ve taken a longer break from school.” Sugawara’s smile felt stretched too tightly across his face.

“I’m fine, Dai. You worry too much.” Sugawara laughed lightly, jogging ahead once they’d made it into the cafeteria. He’d spotted the others waving them over, the perfect excuse to run away from the uncomfortable conversation he’d been having.

Hinata was chatting animatedly to Kageyama, waving his hands around in the air dramatically. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were having a discussion of their own, albeit much quieter. 

Nishinoya was the one who had waved them over, and was busy chomping down on a pulled pork sandwich, looking blissful as he ate his lunch. “Hey guys! Hinata has an idea on how to start solving the case.” He explained, through mouthfuls of foods.

Tsukishima wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Chew before speaking, you animal.”

Nishinoya stuck his tongue out in response, proudly displaying his chewed up food.

“What’s your idea, Hinata?” Sugawara interrupted, turning to the ginger, who’s conversation had only gotten louder and angrier. Hinata’s head whipped towards him at the sound of his name, momentarily distracted from his debate.

“Oh hey, Suga. I didn’t notice you two were here already. Anyways, I wanted to ask Oikawa if he knew anything about why Ennoshita was at school so late on the night he was killed.” 

_Out of everyone, Oikawa would be the most likely to know something like that.._

_But I know my cousin, and I definitely don’t trust him alone with my friends. That cheeky bastard wouldn’t hesitate to get Hinata to spill a few secrets, just to have blackmail in handy for the future._

“I’ll do it! Him and I sit next to each other in math class, so we’re friendly enough.” Sugawara lied easily, glancing towards the table where Oikawa was seated, in the center of the cafeteria and surrounded by fangirls. 

Hinata nodded halfheartedly, still engrossed in his argument with Kageyama. ‘Yeah, sure. Go ahead- shut _up_ Kageyama! I would absolutely survive in a zombie apocalypse, I know I would!”

Kageyama scoffed. “Yeah, right. You wouldn’t last a week.”

Sugawara snickered, kissing Daichi’s cheek and walking towards Oikawa’s table before he could witness Hinata’s reply.

Sugawara jostled his way through the crowded cafeteria, pushing through the cluster of girls surrounding Oikawa. 

The brunet was sitting next Iwaizumi, across from Hanamaki and Matsukawa. He was laughing airily, politely chatting with the girls fawning over him. Iwaizumi was scowling, and had his arm draped possessively over his boyfriend’s shoulders.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Refreshing! What brings you around these parts? I know how much you dislike the limelight, afterall.” Oikawa greeted with a smirk, while his friends watched with guarded curiosity. 

Sugawara’s eye twitched, but he covered it up with a cool smile. He’d always hated that nickname, it was an inside joke about Sugawara being the only other Siren in the school, a breath of fresh air to Oikawa compared to all the regular humans he had to pretend around. 

With Sugawara, Oikawa was free to be completely real, although that had never stopped him from putting up a front.

“Hey, Oikawa. Can we talk? It’s important.” Sugawara urged, nodding to Iwaizumi in greeting.

Oikawa’s playful smile sharpened. “We _are_ talking. What seems to be the problem?” 

Sugawara’s smile tightened. “Can we talk in private? I’ll owe you a favor if you help me out right now.” Oikawa perked up at that, gracefully standing up away from his lunch, giving Iwaizumi a _very_ heated kiss for a goodbye, and stalking towards Sugawara.

“Well, why didn’t you just say so? Let’s chat, Suga-chan.”

The two headed out of the cafeteria, to a deserted hallway. "So, what's wrong? You never talk to me, unless it's an emergency. Did something happen to one of our mothers?" 

Sugawara shook his head, noting the flash of relief in the brunet's eyes. "No, I wanted to ask you about Ennoshita, and why he stayed so late after school on the day he was murdered." 

Oikawa raised a slender eyebrow. "Are you trying to figure out who did it? That doesn't seem like something you'd do, I know you prefer to fly under the radar." 

Oikawa wasn't wrong, Sugawara had begged him not to tell people that they were cousins, to avoid the unwanted attention it'd bring. He wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible, while Oikawa had chosen to hide in plain sight. 

"It's not my idea, but I didn't trust you alone with any of my friends. We both know that you would just cause trouble, rather than actually helping.” Sugawara said bluntly, rolling his eyes at Oikawa’s indignant squawk that followed.

“Rude, first of all. Second, I heard he was staying to go over his recent math grades with Mr. Takeda. It was just an unlucky coincidence, if you ask me. I’m assuming your friends think something nonhuman killed him?” Oikawa questioned, narrowing his eyes.

Sugawara’s annoyed expression disappeared, replaced by one of surprise. “Yeah, actually. How’d you know that?” 

Oikawa’s lips cocked up into a predatory grin. “Like you said Suga-chan, I know everything that goes on around here,” Sugawara’s eyes narrowed. “Anyways, it wasn’t a werewolf, if that’s what you’re thinking. Iwaizumi keeps a pretty tight leash on his pack, and even those who aren’t in his pack respect him enough to obey his wishes. Murder simply isn’t on the werewolf agenda these days.” 

Sugawara frowned at that, but he knew Oikawa was being honest. “Why would the killer take the arms, then? A vampire would drink the blood, and a Siren has no purpose for the meat at all. Those are the only supernaturals that live here that I know of, at least.” 

“I don’t know, maybe there’s some cannibalistic wackjob running around town. If that’s all you need from me, I’ll be leaving now. Toodles!” Oikawa called over his shoulder, flashing his signature smile. 

Sugawara watched the brunet strut away, sighing. Even if Oikawa had been trying to help, he’d only ended up making Sugawara even more confused.

_Maybe there’s a werewolf that went behind Iwaizumi’s back?_

_How could that happen, though? Iwaizumi meets up with all of the werewolves every full moon, for their monthly hunt._

_He keeps tabs on them, Iwaizumi would know if one of them suddenly started eating human meat, so it can’t have been one of them!_

_Then, who?_

_______________________________

Hinata chewed on his sandwich, thinking.

After his debate with Kageyama about whether or not he’d be able to survive a zombie apocalypse, (Hinata had totally won), he’d begun to seriously think about the case.

Despite whatever Tsukishima said, Hinata _knew_ that a human couldn’t have killed Ennoshita. It simply wasn’t possible.

Sugawara and Daichi had found the corpse quickly after he was killed, because they’d mentioned that the blood hadn’t yet dried when they stumbled upon it.

That meant that the killer had worked quickly, somehow managing to tear off _both_ arms, and carry them without being seen. How the hell would someone normal be able to pull that off? It would take too long to cut off the limbs, and a human wouldn’t have the strength to rip them off.

Hinata was absolutely certain that something was very, very wrong.

“So what do _you_ think killed him? I definitely think it was a vampire, but you haven’t really said what you were thinking.” Nishinoya’s question startled Hinata, breaking him away from his thoughts.

Hinata swallowed his mouthful of food. “Well, a werewolf makes the most sense, because I can’t think of another monster that would eat the actual meat.”

Yamaguchi nodded, before turning back to his quiet conversation with Tsukishima.

Nishinoya wrinkled his nose in distaste. “No way. It was definitely a vampire, I _know_ it.”

Tsukishima scoffed. “Where’s your proof?” 

“I don’t have proof, it’s just _instinct.”_ Nishinoya snapped back, bristling.

Kageyama, Yamaguchi, Daichi, and Hinata shared a concerned glance. It wasn’t often that Nishinoya got genuinely irritated, so none of them really understood what had upset him so much. 

_Maybe Ennoshita’s death hurt him more than I thought?_

Hinata sighed quietly. 

_This could be a problem._


	5. Pieces of the Puzzle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad news, I've been super swamped with school work so I'll be going on a hiatus. Hopefully it won't last long, but my goal is to write a few chapters ahead so I can take it easy after that. Love y'all <3

It had nearly been a full week since Ennoshita was murdered, and the ‘Undercover Crow Detectives’ hadn’t made much progress in figuring out who’d done it.

Hinata had mentioned something about meeting up and discussing a few things, but Tsukishima hadn’t particularly cared enough about it to pay attention to the plan.

Now it was Saturday, and Tsukishima had been spending the past hour doing homework with Yamaguchi, ignoring the constant vibrating of their phones from the notifications of Hinata spamming their group chat.

The two had been sitting in comfortable silence, the only sounds in the room being the buzz of their phones and the scritch scratch of their pencils as they scribbled across the crisp white paper.

Tsukishima was in the middle of a math problem when he noticed Yamaguchi peeking at him from under his lashes, clearly hesitating about something. 

“What?” Tsukishima’s question sent a jolt through Yamaguchi, embarrassed that he’d been caught staring. 

Rubbing his neck sheepishly, Yamaguchi set down his pencil. “Do..Do you really not believe in the supernatural? Do you think this whole investigation is a waste of time?”

Tsukishima was quiet for a moment, weighing his answer. Yamaguchi seemed nervous, and he didn’t want to upset the boy even more. “I think it’s possible that they exist, but we don’t really have enough proof to guarantee that one killed Ennoshita. I know Hinata and the others mean well, but I don’t see how a bunch of high schoolers are more suited to solve a murder than the police.”

Yamaguchi relaxed at that. “Yeah, me neither. I didn’t want to say anything in front of them, but I really don’t like the idea of chasing down a crazy killer. It’s too dangerous, whether it’s a supernatural being or not. I think we should leave it to the professionals.” 

Tsukishima had to admit that he had a point, but both of them knew it was impossible to convince Hinata to give up. Especially now that he had all the others involved in it as well. 

“Are you scared?” Tsukishima questioned, scanning his best friend's face for any signs of anxiety. 

Yamaguchi nodded. “Honestly, yeah. I didn’t tell anyone this, but that night when Ennoshita was killed, I was nearby. My mom sent me to get some groceries, and I walked right past that pathway. I could’ve been the one killed, instead of Ennoshita. I know it’s selfish, but I want to stay as far away from the killer as possible.”   
Tsukishima’s eyes widened. 

_I could’ve lost him._

Motioning for Yamaguchi to come over, Tsukishima shifted away from the table, making room for the freckled boy to sit in front of him. Yamaguchi sat in between his legs, his back pressed into Tsukishima’s chest, his head resting against Tsukishima’s shoulder. 

Tsukishima had never been one for cuddling, but even he could make a few exceptions. Especially when it came to Yamaguchi, his ultimate weak spot.

“You don’t have to be a part of the investigation, you know. I’m sure the others would understand, they aren’t _completely_ stupid. Suga and Daichi would definitely take your side, at the very least.” 

Yamaguchi smiled a bit at that, some of the tension draining from his shoulders. “Yeah, I know. I think I’d just spend all my time worrying about whether or not you were in danger, though. I think I’ll stick around and help out when I can.” 

Tsukishima ran his fingers loosely through his best friend’s hair. “That’s brave of you, Tadashi.”

“Thanks, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi tilted his head upwards, shooting the blond a grin.

_He’s stunning._

Swallowing thickly, Tsukishima flicked his gaze away, unable to keep eye contact. Just as he was working out how to respond, his phone rang.

The Jurassic Park theme song blared, ruining their peaceful moment. 

Scowling, Tsukishima leant over, snatching his phone off of the table. Glancing at the screen, he saw it was Hinata who was calling him.

Accepting the call, Tsukishima’s scowl deepened. “What do you _want?”_ He snapped, noticing Yamaguchi’s slightly annoyed expression.

_He’s just as irritated about the interruption as I am._

The thought made Tsukishima smile to himself slightly, but it disappeared as soon as Hinata spoke.

“Hey, Tsukki! We’re all meeting up, everyone’s waiting for you and Yamaguchi. Do you know where he is? He’s not answering his phone.”

Tsukishima massaged his temples. “Don’t call me that. And he’s here with me, his phone is on silent.” Yamaguchi perked up at the mention of himself, peering at Tsukishima curiously.

Hinata hummed. “He’s with _you_ huh? Are you two finally dating?” 

Tsukishima choked, ignoring the snicker that came from his phone. “Piss off, I’m not talking to you about this. Are you guys at the diner?” 

There was some brief indistinct conversation from Hinata’s end, before Hinata finally answered. 

“Yeah! Hurry up and get over he- Ack, Kageyama, give me my phone back!”

“Man up, Tsukishima! Ask out Yamaguchi already, you’re supposed to be the smart one here, not us!” Kageyama insisted, a chorus of laughter and a few shouts from Hinata spilling out of the receiver after him. 

Grimacing, Tsukishima hung up without replying. 

Turning to Yamaguchi, who was trying but failing to act like he hadn’t been trying to eavesdrop. “Everyone’s waiting for us at the diner. Let’s go.” He sighed, unexcited. 

Yamaguchi climbed out of his lap, grabbing his phone off the table, checking his messages. 

“So what were they saying to you? All I could really hear was some laughter.” Yamaguchi prodded, glancing at him. 

Tsukishima’s signature scowl returned. “Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

Yamaguchi laughed. “Sorry, Tsukki.”

__________________________________

“Y’know, for someone so smart, Tsukishima really is pretty dumb.” Nishinoya sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. 

Sugawara raised an eyebrow. “Weren't you pining after Asahi for the last two years, even though it was painfully obvious that he was in love with you? It’s not like you really have any space to talk, Noya.”

Nishinoya frowned while Daichi barked out a laugh. “C’mon, Suga. We weren’t much better.”

“Well, I happened to have a very good reason for being so nervous to confess, I’ll have you know.” Sugawara grinned, elbowing his boyfriend gently. 

Daichi smiled. “Oh yeah? What was it then, hmm?” 

Ignoring his friends’ curious faces, Sugawara leaned into Daichi, whispering in his ear. “You’re _really_ hot. Being around you made me nervous.” Leaning back to admire the light blush dusting his lover’s cheeks, Sugawara smiled proudly. 

_He’s so cute when he’s bashful._

Hinata wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Ew, don’t flirt in front of us. It’s like I’m watching my own parents flirt. That’s gross.” Kageyama nodded in agreement. 

Daichi rolled his eyes playfully, his comeback interrupted by Sugawara pulling him into a kiss, giggling at the chorus of groans from his friends. 

"You guys are just jealous that I have the best boyfriend." Sugawara smirked, letting Daichi wrap an arm around his shoulders. 

"I'm just jealous that you have a boyfriend in general." Hinata sighed, giving Kageyama a side eye. 

Either Kageyama didn't notice, or was just oblivious, because he didn't comment. 

Sugawara couldn't stop the amused grin from spreading across his face. He'd long since given up on trying to figure out the duo's relationship, preferring to sit back and observe quietly. 

The groups conversation was cut short by the sight of Tsukishima and Yamaguchi walking into the diner. 

"We're here, losers. Hey Suga, Daichi." Tsukishima greeted, giving the older two a polite nod. 

Sugawara smiled at the sight of the two, standing next to each other- a little too close to be considered platonic. 

"Hey, how are you two? Anything interesting happen today?" Daichi questioned, smiling faintly. 

Tsukishima sighed, knowing what he was implying. "No."

Yamaguchi glanced at the two, looking confused, but didn't say anything. 

Sugawara gave Tsukishima a gentle smile, motioning for the two of them to sit down. 

"Alright, does anyone have any news about the case?" Hinata questioned, looking around the group. 

Sugawara nodded. He hadn't mentioned his talk with Oikawa yet, forgetting about it when he entered the cafeteria afterwards to find Hinata and Kageyama fighting. 

"Yeah, actually. I talked with Oikawa about Ennoshita, and found out why he was at school so late the day he was murdered. Apparently Mr. Takeda had him stay after class to talk about his grades." 

Nishinoya's head shot towards Sugawara at that. "What? Why? Ennoshita was generally pretty good at math, he say next to me in class and would help me out sometimes. That makes no sense!" 

"Maybe he'd been stressed lately? His grades could've dipped a little because of that, it's happened to me before." Yamaguchi suggested, frowning. 

Nishinoya looked unconvinced. 

"Should we ask Mr. Takeda about it?" Sugawara asked, boring his lip nervously. 

Yamaguchi hesitated, debating. "Maybe, but wouldn't he be a suspect? It might be best to not let him know that we're investigating." 

Sugawara couldn't argue with that. 

"He's never asked me to stay after class before, and I'm literally failing his class. He's definitely suspicious." Kageyama nodded thoughtfully. 

Sugawara gave him a stern look. "You need to take care of your studies, you can't just focus entirely on the investigation and fail highschool." He demanded, making Kageyama frown. 

Hinata avoided eye contact. 

"Okay, so our first suspect is Mr. Takeda, we just need to find a way to see if he was still at the school when Ennoshita was killed." Tsukishima decided, earning a few nods in agreement. 

Sugawara bit his lip. 

He had an idea of how to be sure, but he was hesitant to actually do it. 

"I can handle that, I just need to wait until Monday. Nishinoya, can you stay after school to help me with my plan?" 

Nishinoya nodded excitedly, while the others gave Sugawara curious glances. 

"What's the plan?" Yamaguchi prodded. 

Sugawara forced an easy-going grin. "I'm going to look at the security camera footage." 

Nishinoya managed to look even more excited. 

"That stuff is kept in the principal's office, there's no way you'll be able to get to it." Daichi frowned, eyebrows furrowing in disapproval. 

Sugawara couldn't explain why he knew he'd be able to, so he settle for a reassuring pat on his boyfriend's arm. "Just trust me, alright?" 

Daichi sighed. "Just be careful, don't get yourself in trouble."

"Suga, you're gonna go on a secret mission, that's so cool!" Hinata exclaimed, shaking Kageyama aggressively with his excitement. 

"Dumbass, let go of me!" 

Sugawara smiled tiredly. "Now that that's settled, does anyone else have any news?" 

"I think we should all say where we were at the time of the murder, just to be safe. I trust you guys, but it's better to be safe than sorry, y'know?" Nishinoya suggested, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. 

Sugawara nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. Dai and I were at school, uh, hanging out." 

Daichi snickered quietly, remembering their impromptu make out session. 

"Kageyama and I were at his house, playing video games. I didn't leave until it was late, so it couldn't have been either of us!" Hinata explained, while Kageyama nodded in confirmation. 

"I was at home, my brother can vouch for me if that's necessary." Tsukishima stated plainly. 

"I was at home too, on a call with Asahi. He can vouch for me!" Nishinoya exclaimed, grinning proudly. 

Yamaguchi hesitated. "I was at home mostly, but my mom sent me it to get groceries, probably sometime around when he was killed. I didn't see anything though, I swear." 

Hinata gasped quietly. "That must've been scary, finding out that you were so close. Thank god you're okay!" 

"Yeah, it definitely makes me a bit nervous about investigating, but I won't ditch you guys." Yamaguchi agreed, smiling softly. 

Sugawara's heart melted, a newfound appreciation for the soft-spoken boy warming his chest. "That's really brave of you." 

Yamaguchi gave him a grateful look. "Thanks, Suga."

Their group spent the rest of the afternoon trying to come up with new theories about the killer, but none seemed to fit right, always having some sort of reason to not work out. 

Eventually they went their separate ways, determined to come up with fresh ideas by their next meeting. 

__________________________

Tsukishima hated being unable to figure out problems, and the investigation was really starting to bother him. 

Something wasn't adding up, it just didn't make any sense. 

None of it seemed plausible, there were too many variables, too many things that could've gone wrong for the killer. How lucky could someone be? 

_There's no such thing as a perfect crime.._

_So why can't I find any flaws?_

He decided to go for a walk, determined to clear his head in an attempt to get a fresh outlook on the crime. 

Grabbing his phone and headphones, Tsukishima headed outside, calling a quick farewell to his parents. 

Tsukishima decided to head towards the school, searching for the pathway he'd seen Sugawara sneak to once before. He hoped the silver haired boy wouldn't be there, because the spot seemed special to him, and Tsukishima assumed he wouldn't want others knowing about it. 

Walking to the school, he scrolled through his notifications, looking for any important ones. 

There were a few texts from their group chat, mostly from Hinata. 

Ignoring those, he clicked on a text message from Yamaguchi. 

_Tadashi: are you doing anything today?_

Tsukishima quickly thought about his plans for the day. He had a bit of homework left, but other than that he'd be free for the rest of the day once he finished his walk. 

_Tsukishima: I'm on a walk right now but after that I'm free all day. Why?_

Yamaguchi answered instantly.

_Tadashi: I'm bored. Can I come over later? I wanna work on some theories with you about the investigation._

_Tsukishima: Sure. I'll text you when I'm home._

_Tadashi: Okay!_

Pocketing his phone, Tsukishima focused once more on his destination. 

He'd made it to the school, and veered off of the street, heading into the forest behind it. 

The trail was surrounded by a thick layer of foliage, almost completely hidden from the street. Trees filled the area around it, blocking the sunlight from reaching the ground, leaving it shadowy and slightly spooky. 

Ignoring the flicker of anxiety in his stomach, Tsukishima continued forward, pushing last the stray branches that littered the walkway. 

As he walked, a faraway voice drifted through the trees, singing a gentle melody. The song intrigued Tsukishima, and he found himself drawn towards the voice, following the delicate melody deeper into the forest. 

Tsukishima ended up on the bank of Echo River, a river that he'd heard several rumors and stories about. 

He'd never believe them, of course. Until now. 

Scanning the water, he was confused to find that it appeared empty, nobody in sight. 

_Who the hell was singing?_

Feeling shaken up, he decided to turn around. If there really was something unnatural going on, he _definitely_ didn't want to get caught up in the middle of it. 

One investigation was enough for a lifetime. 

Jogging back towards the trail, Tsukishima tossed one last curious glance over his shoulder. 

He could've sworn that he saw a flash of silver, but it was gone so quickly that he wasn't sure.

Forcing himself to look away, Tsukishima strolled back down the trail, looking at the scenery around him. 

A sliver of white caught his eye, stark against the green and brown that colored the ground around him. It was towards the side of the path, half hidden under leaves in a small ditch. 

Bending into his knees, Tsukishima wiped away a few branches to get a clearer view of the foreign object. 

Once he was clearly able to see what it was, he felt his heart stop. 

Laying on the ground, was a small pile of bones, with dried blood crusted onto them. 

_Holy shit._

_What the hell do I do?_

_Are these Ennoshita's bones? Did I find the remains of his arms?_

_Why are they here, of all places?_

Swallowing his rising panic, Tsukishima forced himself to take a deep breath. 

_Think logically._

_These are most likely Ennoshita's, so I need to call the police. But first.._

Grabbing his phone, Tsukishima shakily unlocked it, opening his camera. 

He leaned as close as he could without falling into the ditch and snapped a few pictures, careful not to mess with the evidence in any way. 

Having the pictures could help out the investigation, and Tsukishima found himself a lot more determined to figure out whatever the hell was going on. 

Once he'd taken several photos, Tsukishima called the police. 

"Hello, you've reached 911. Please state your emergency." A man's voice said calmly. 

Tsukishima took a shaky breath. "Hello, my name is Tsukishima Kei. I was on a walk near Echo Creek High, and I found some bloody bones hidden in a ditch. I think they belong to the kid who was murdered." 

The sound of someone typing on a keyboard filled the silence of the forest for a moment, before the man spoke once again. "Where exactly are you? I'm going to send a few officers to you, they should be there soon."

Tsukishima quickly gave the operator directions on how to get to him, and sat down on the other side of the pathway to wait for the police, as far away from the bones as possible. 

When the police arrived, he quickly filled them in on the situation, leaving out the mysterious voice he'd heard earlier. 

He wasn't stupid, Tsukishima knew it would make him sound crazy.

As the police took him back to the station, Tsukishima sent a quick text to the group chat he had with the others. 

_Tsukishima: We need to meet up early tomorrow before school. I found something._


	6. Falling Into Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long for this chapter!! Originally I had planned for my hiatus to be a week or so, but it ended up being around a month, sorry about that. 's been kicking my ass and I've honestly lost my motivation to keep this fic- but I do plan on finishing it! Updates will no longer be weekly, but I'm going to try to update as often as possible! Hope you enjoy <3

Doing homework seems a lot less important when there's a killer on the run. 

Sugawara couldn't find it in himself to study his trigonometry notes, no matter how important his upcoming test would be. 

_I could always persuade the to push it back, if necessary._

Although Sugawara was very adamant against using his gift to cheat his way through life, he _was_ still a teenage boy. 

Sometimes he could make exceptions to his rules, _especially_ if that exception was about . 

Pushing away his textbooks, Sugawara let out a deep sigh. 

He’d just gotten home a few hours ago, returning from a therapy session that left him nervous and slightly uncomfortable. Talking in depth about what had happened with a stranger made him anxious, feeling as if he was reliving the scenario every time. 

Now he was debating about how to spend the rest of his afternoon, when his phone buzzed with a text message. Picking it up, Sugawara was surprised to realize that it was Tsukishima who'd messaged the group, quite a rare occurrence. 

Clicking the notification, he opened up the chat, noticing that he wasn't the only one who'd immediately opened it.

_Tsukishima: We need to meet up early tomorrow before . I found something huge._

_Yamaguchi: What happened?? Is it about the investigation?_

_Hinata: omg tsukki what did you find??? U better answer quickly!!!_

_Daichi: Is everything okay?_

_Noya: hell yeah!!! Good job tsukki!!_

_Kageyama: can someone send the homework? Also what is going on?_

Eyebrows raised, Sugawara quickly typed a reply. 

_Suga: Are you alright, Tsukishima?_

_Suga: And do your own homework, Kageyama!_

Knowing Tsukishima probably wouldn't reply for a while, Sugawara set his phone back onto his desk. He assumed Tsukishima was being questioned by the , if he'd really found something as huge as it seemed. 

_I wonder what he found?_

His phone suddenly rang, interrupting his thinking. 

Answering it, Sugawara got an earful of Hinata's excited chatter. 

"Hey Suga! Do you want to meet up with us and try to figure out what Tsukki found? He's not answering our messages, that bastard." 

An amused found its way into his face, and Sugawara found himself nodding even though he knew Hinata couldn't see him. 

"Yeah, sure. He's probably at the station, being questioned. Don't be too hard on him!" 

Hinata let out an 'ooh!'. "Okay! Meet us at the diner in fifteen minutes, if you can! Bye!" 

Promising to be there, Sugawara bid farewell and hung up. Giving up on his studying, Sugawara pushed back his chair, standing up. He took his time getting ready, pulling on a loose hoodie and slipping on matching sneakers. As he walked around his room, he made a mental list of what Tsukishima could’ve found.

_Some type of evidence, most likely._

_The murder weapon, maybe?_

_Or did he witness something, instead?_

_Maybe he saw the killer!_

Biting his lip, Sugawara shook his head. 

His father was at work, so Sugawara scribbled a quick note explaining where he’d gone off too. 

Sugawara’s father had taken the truck, so he was forced to pull his bike out from the garage to use instead of driving. It was a nice bike, a pastel blue colour with a scuffed silver bell fastened onto a handlebar. Sugawara had only ever used the bell to irritate his friend when they’d ride their bikes around together, constantly ringing it until they begged him to stop. 

He always found it incredibly amusing, and never passed up the chance to annoy his friends.

Swinging a leg over the bike, Sugawara quickly climbed on top, pushing himself forward. He hadn’t used his bike in a while, preferring to drive after getting his license. 

Buildings passed by in a blur as he hurried towards his group’s favorite meeting spot. Letting out short puffs of air and he peddled aggressively, Sugawara managed to make it to the meeting on time, letting out a sigh of relief. He’d always been a stickler about being on time, and hated being even slightly late, no matter who he was meeting.

Grinning as he gave the small silver bell a quick ring, Sugawara climbed off of his bike and layed it against the outside wall of the diner. 

He didn’t bother trying to lock it onto anything, knowing that nobody would bother to steal it. In such a small town, it was easy to notice someone suddenly having something that you recently lost, so people tended to avoid stealing- especially something as large as a bike.

Strolling inside, Sugawara quickly spotted Hinata’s bright head of orange hair peeking from behind a booth in a far corner, accompanied by Nishinoya, Kageyama, and Daichi. 

Sugawara jogged over, flashing a bright at them as he quickly slid into the booth, right beside Daichi. “Hey, guys! Where’s Yamaguchi?”

Daichi picked up Sugawara’s hand, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over his knuckles.

“He’s running a little late, he said he had to convince his Mom to let him come. She’s pretty paranoid about having a killer running around town.” Hinata explained, pulling Sugawara’s attention towards him. 

Nodding, Sugawara glanced around at the group. “Any ideas on what Tsukishima found?” 

Nishinoya perked up. “Do you think he found another body?” 

Sugawara winced. That thought hadn’t even crossed his mind, and he desperately hoped it was wrong. Stumbling upon something so scarring wasn’t something he’d wish on anyone, especially not one of his close friends. 

“Or maybe he found the murder weapon stashed somewhere!” Hinata piped up, bouncing in his seat with excitement. 

That was possible and Sugawara himself had thought about it, but it just didn’t seem likely that the killer would be so careless. He said so out loud, earning a groan from Hinata. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” 

Their conversation was halted when a familiar figure burst inside the building, hurrying towards the booth. 

“Sorry I’m late! My Mom was really nervous about letting me go out.” Yamaguchi explained in a rush, plopping onto the empty spot across from Sugawara. 

Giving him a , Sugawara waved away the excuse. “Don’t worry, you’re fine. We just started, anyway,” Yamaguchi sighed in relief, glad to have not missed anything important.

“Now, where were we?” 

_____________________________

Hinata was having an incredibly hard time concentrating. 

This was no unordinary feat for him, but he was the one to call this meeting, so he should at the very least be able to focus. 

But he was sitting right next to Kageyama, his side pressed against the warmth of the quiet boy. The sensation made his heart flutter, distracting him from what the others were saying. All he could focus was on the delicious warmth next to him, and how nice it’d be to just scoot a _little_ closer-

“Hinata?” Nishinoya’s voice made Hinata jump a bit, pulling him away from his tempting thoughts. 

Flushing slightly, Hinata rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Ah, what was that?” 

“I asked if you had any guesses on _where_ Tsukki found the mystery thing.” Nishinoya repeated, while Sugawara gave him an amused . 

_I know exactly what you were thinking about, I lived through it, too._

It seemed to say, making Hinata shift in his seat nervously. 

“Um, not really. Does anyone know where he was headed? I didn’t even know that he wasn’t at home until he texted us.” He answered, avoiding eye contact with the silver-haired boy on the other side of the table.

Yamaguchi leaned forward and turned to look at Hinata, who was blocked from his view by Kageyama. “He told me that he was going on a walk, but he didn’t specify where exactly he was headed.” 

Hinata frowned. “So basically, we have no idea what he found _or_ where he found it?” Everyone sighed in unison, slumping in their seats.  
“Maybe he found a new piece of evidence.” Kageyama suggested.

Daichi gave him a surprised look. “Yeah, that actually makes the most sense so far.”

Hinata slapped Kageyama on the back enthusiastically. “Wow, that was actually kinda smart of you, Yamayama!” Kageyama bristled and smacked the back of Hinata’s head.

“You don’t need to sound so surprised about it!” Kageyama snapped, glaring at the redhead. Hinata and Nishinoya snickered.

“You guys sound like an old married couple.” Nishinoya giggled, earning matching blushes and glares from Hinata and Kageyama.

“What- you- shut up!” Hinata spluttered, a noticeable flush creeping up his neck. 

Kageyama didn’t seem to notice, too busy avoiding eye contact. “Anyway, what sort of evidence do you think he might’ve found, if not a new body?” He asked quickly, determined to change the subject. 

The others let him, while Hinata let out a silent of relief.

“What if he found the missing arms?” Daichi proposed. Hinata, Kageyama, and Sugawara nodded in unison. 

“That seems pretty likely.” Sugawara agreed.

Nishinoya frowned. “Why would someone cut off the arms just to hide them somewhere else?” 

That question stumped Hinata. It really didn’t make any sense, and he was beginning to get frustrated. 

_What the hell is going on inside the killer’s mind? Why do all this unnecessary stuff, it doesn’t make sense!_

Yamaguchi seemed to think it over for a moment. “Maybe the killer did it just to throw the off their trail? Or just to be as confusing as possible, so they don’t get caught.” He suggested, albeit looking slightly doubtful.

Hinata considered the idea. It _did_ seem to make the most sense, but would someone really go through all that work, just to do a crappy job of hiding the evidence? 

The kill itself seemed so different compared to the evidence. One had been careful and controlled, while the other was messy and lazy. It just didn’t add up.  
Two different ideas popped into his head, and a broke out across his face.

_Of course! Why didn’t I think of this earlier!_

“Guys, what if we’re looking at this all wrong? There’s been too many inconsistencies with the killing and the evidence, what if there isn’t just one person involved in this? Or what if the killer has some sort of mental illness that makes them act differently, like Bipolar Disorder or Dissociative Identity Disorder?” Hinata rambled, growing excited once again. 

Sugawara looked doubtful. “Plenty of people have those disorders, they don’t make someone suddenly a killer.” Daichi nodded in agreement, frowning disapprovingly. 

“No, I get that! But what if they have some type of disorder _and_ happen to be a psychopathic killer! I don’t think they’d kill _because_ of their disorder, I’m saying that it might affect the way they kill and hide evidence, especially if they aren’t taking any medication.” He clarified, and the two older boys relaxed. 

Daichi and Sugawara shared a glance. “Yeah, that could make sense. It’s definitely an option.” Daichi said slowly, thinking it over.

“I think it makes a lot of sense, we might be looking for a regular human then, instead of something supernatural.” Yamaguchi piped up, looking slightly relieved at the thought.

Nishinoya bounced in his seat. “You also said there might be more than two people doing this together, did you mean the killer might have a partner?” 

“Yeah, exactly! Or maybe this is a group sort of thing, like a cult!” Hinata answered, looking entirely too cheerful to be discussing murder theories. Even Kageyama looked slightly impressed at the ginger’s thinking, although he most _definitely_ say it out loud.

Yamaguchi looked unconvinced. “I think your first idea was right. Multiple people would be too risky, since any one of them could mess up and reveal everything.”

Daichi sighed. “I sure hope you’re right, Yamaguchi. How the hell would we be able to catch _multiple_ bad guys?”

Sugawara karate chopped his boyfriend in the side. “Negativity _begone!_ We can do this, show some faith!”

Hinata grinned. “Suga’s right! So, which theory are we going with?” 

“Raise your hand if you think the first theory, about the killer having a disorder, is right.” Daichi instructed. Daichi, Yamaguchi, and Kageyama raised their hands.  
Hinata, Sugawara, and Nishinoya shared a glance. They were the only ones who disagreed, making it a . 

Hinata sighed. “I guess we should wait until we hear Tsukki’s news to decide. He can be the tiebreaker.”

Everyone agreed, and they eventually left the diner with heavy hearts and anxious glances over their shoulders, going their separate ways.

The investigation was finally coming along, but it wasn’t feeling as fun anymore.

_______________________________

Sugawara Koushi had a plan. 

Multiple plans actually, but only one that he was able to put to work right now. 

With his hard work, helpful sources, and a lot of luck, he might be able to figure out who the killer was. 

All he had to do was visit his mother, and hopefully her or one of her friend’s had seen something recently. There wasn’t a huge chance that the killer had visited the , but _someone_ had to know _something_ , and word tended to spread quickly amongst the supernaturals around town.

After waving goodbye to his friends, Sugawara quickly hopped onto his bike and headed home, secretly looping around and heading back past the once he was sure his friends wouldn’t be around.

Quickly making his way to his usual pathway, Sugawara stashed his bike in the dense bushes near the entrance. 

A glance around showed several cars parked in the ’s back parking lot, uncomfortably close to where Sugawara was standing. Dread pooled in his stomach, and he found himself frantically running down the path, praying that the cops wouldn’t be in his way.

_Please just let them be nearby, please, please, please._

_Why would Tsukishima have been here in the first place?_

An unsettling thought forced its way into Sugawara’s head, no matter how hard he tried not to think about it.  
_Does he know about me?_

Shaking his head to try to clear his thoughts, the sight of tape and a familiar head of fluffy brown hair making him skid to a stop. 

A few yards in front of him, stood Oikawa Tooru, happily chatting with a officer. 

Oikawa laughed politely, resting his hand on the officer’s arm. “Oh, it’s really no bother at all, sir! If it’s no problem, may I ask what exactly happened here?” He questioned, his voice dripping with fake cheerfulness. 

The officer smiled, looking slightly dazed. 

_Of course he wouldn’t hesitate to use his voice to persuade a cop to give out private information._

“Ah well, some kid f-” 

Sugawara jogged over to the two, flashing a fake . “Oikawa, hey! Nice to see you again.” He interrupted, suppressing the urge to his eyes.

The looked between the two, looking confused. “What was I saying, again?” 

Sugawara grabbed Oikawa’s arm, pulling him away from the officer. “Nothing, sir. We were just leaving, have a nice day.” Flashing one last , he stalked away with the brunette. 

Oikawa shot him an amused look. “You seem awfully eager to talk to me today, Suga-chan! What seems to be the problem?” 

Sugawar took a step back and crossed his arms, his patience already wearing thin. “I don’t even know where to start! What the hell is going on? And why would you make a cop tell you private information? What are you even _doing_ here?” He whispered fervently, glaring at the smirking brunette.

Oikawa’s amused grin turned plastic. “I have a mother too, you know. Even _I_ want to see my mom every once and awhile.”

Sugawara winced, feeling guilty. 

Sometimes he tended to forget that the cocky brunette had feelings, just like he did. 

“I’m sorry, that was a dick thing for me to say. How _is_ Aunt Aimi? I haven’t spoken to her recently.” Sugawara questioned, giving his cousin an apologetic .

Oikawa’s expression softened, making him look almost vulnerable. “She’s doing well, actually. Takeru and I try to visit her and Mako as much as possible. Takeru is going to be so upset that he won’t be able to see his mom for a while.” He explained, worry creeping across his perfect features. 

Sugawara frowned sympathetically. He had never been close with Mako, his older cousin, but had always adored Takeru. “Are you two going to be okay?” 

Oikawa waved his hand breezily. “Don’t you worry, Suga-chan. We’ll be just fine.” 

_Well, I have to give him some credit. He lasted a whole thirty seconds without a facade._

Sugawara sighed. “Well, since I can’t see Mom then I guess I’ll head back.” He started walking away, giving Oikawa a quick wave and gentle as a farewell. 

“I’ll walk with you!” Oikawa chirped, falling into step beside him. The two walked together, a comfortable silence between them, one that Sugawara enjoyed immensely. 

Oikawa broke this silence very quickly. 

“So, how’s it going with Dai-chan? Have you told him yet?” 

Sugawara groaned. “Everything is perfect, and _no,_ I haven’t told him. I don’t know _how!_ How am I supposed to tell my perfectly normal human boyfriend that I’m half Siren? He’ll think I’m crazy!” 

Oikawa laughed. “You need to have faith, Suga-chan!” He admonished, shaking his head with a grin. “Besides, I told Iwa-chan, and he didn’t call _me_ crazy.”

Sugawara shot him a halfhearted glare. “Yeah, well _your_ boyfriend is a goddamn werewolf, and mine’s a regular human. Your situation was a bit different from mine.” 

“Yeah, a regular, _boring,_ human.” Oikawa snorted, earning a jab from Sugawara’s elbow. 

Sighing, Sugawara tried to come up with a plan on how the hell he was supposed to drop his huge secret on Daichi. 

Then again, maybe he shouldn’t come up with a plan. 

After all, luck sure didn't seem to be on his side lately. 


	7. Territorial Tenseness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's been taking longer for the chapters to come out, I've pretty much lost all my motivation for this fic so I'm trying to focus on quickly and neatly wrapping everything up, but without rushing anything! 
> 
> *ALSO* 
> 
> I made a playlist for this fic a while back to help me stay motivated and inspired, so if anyone is interested in listening to it while reading to make the story seem more vivid, here's the link! 
> 
> Listen to ECHO CREEK, a playlist by doublebubblediscoqueen on #SoundCloud  
> https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/L6RfW
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter! <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for some reason the mf italics weren't working so i spent over TWO HOURS trying over and over again to edit it for them to work :)))))

Tsukishima _despised_ waking up early in the morning.

People tended to be surprised by this fact, as his grumpiness in the mornings tended to go unnoticed, blending in with his usual grumpiness throughout the day. 

But today, he was even more irritated than usual. Tsukishima had been kept at the police station until late at night, forced to repeat his explanation of how he’d found the bones over and over to multiple detectives, being asked the same questions every single time. 

The police had deemed him a suspect, since he’d been the one to find the bones. It was dumb, but Tsukishima knew they were desperate for answers. As embarrassing as it was, it appeared that the “Undercover Crow Detectives” had made more progress in solving the case than the police themselves had. 

_They’re too stubborn to even try considering that something supernatural is going on._

Despite being friends with both Hinata _and_ Kageyama, Tsukishima still found himself baffled by how stupid some people could be.

Even once he’d gotten home, Tsukishima had to stay awake for another hour finishing up the rest of his homework, which left him finally able to go to bed as the sun started rising, only to be woken up by constant nightmares.

_At least it’s over now._

Mentally sighing, Tsukishima dragged himself out of bed. 

He’d woken up even earlier than normal, since him and the others had agreed to meet up earlier than they normally did to talk about what Tsukishima had found.

_God, that was a terrible idea. Who even thought of something so stupid?_

Tsukishima rubbed his face slowly, groaning as he tried to wake up.

_Oh yeah, I did._

Grabbing some random clothes out of his closet and slowly pulling them on, Tsukishima called out to his mother, letting her know they’d need to leave early today. 

His phone vibrated, so Tsukishima picked it up off of his nightstand, wincing when he saw how many messages the others had sent to him while he’d been busy at the police station.

Scrolling through them, he realized there were a few from this morning, before he’d even woken up. 

_Idiot #1: how early are we meeting up, exactly? I’ve been waiting for like ten minutes, and only Bakeyama has showed up so far!_

_Idiot #2: piss off, dumbass. Also hurry up tsukishima, it's boring waiting for you._

_Tadashi: Sorry guys, I’m waiting for Tsukishima’s mom to pick me up. We’ll be there soon!_

_Suga: I’ll be there in a few minutes._

Tsukishima almost felt guilty for making them wait, but he was quite frankly, too tired to give a shit. 

Typing out a quick response, he grabbed his backpack and ran downstairs, meeting his mom at the front door. 

_Tsukishima: I’ll be there soon. You guys woke up earlier than I thought you would._

His mother smiled at him. “Good morning, sleepyhead.” 

“Morning, Mom.” Tsukishima replied, sighing at the teasing tone in her voice. 

The two headed outside, climbing into the shiny BMW his father had bought last week as an apology gift to Tsukishima’s mother, for going on a work trip that made him miss her birthday. For the third year in a row. 

They quickly made their way to Yamaguchi’s house, the freckled boy climbing into the back seat beside Tsukishima, rapidly texting on his phone. 

“Mornin’ Tsukki! How’re you feeling after yesterday?” Yamaguchi greeted, sliding his phone back into his pocket. 

Tsukishima groaned, knowing that would describe how he felt better than any words could. 

Snickering, Yamaguchi patted his arm sympathetically. “I can tell the others to back off today, if you want. You should wait until you’re ready to talk about it.” He offered, but Tsukishima shook his head.

“It’s fine, I just didn’t get much sleep last night. I think I’ll just take a nap during study hall, or something.” Tsukishima sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes once again, trying but failing to wake himself up.

Yamaguchi looked worried, but conceded. “All right, if you say so.”

The two reached the school soon after, climbing out of the car and giving Tsukishima’s mother a quick wave in farewell before walking over to their friends, who were huddled together near the school’s entrance. 

They were the last ones to arrive, and everyone gathered around them eagerly. 

“So? What did you find?” Hinata questioned, jumping in place excitedly. 

Tsukishima sighed for the thousandth time this morning. “I found Ennoshita’s arms. Well, the bones, there was barely any of the actual flesh and stuff.” 

Nishinoya whistled, slapping Tsukishima’s back. “Damn, Tsukki! You’re better at this than the actual police! Way to do their jobs for them!” 

“Where’d you find the bones?” Daichi asked, looking slightly queasy. No doubt he was remembering what _he’d_ found, just a few weeks ago.

Tsukishima glanced at Sugawara, who was looking at him with a guarded expression, arms folded across his chest defensively. “I found them near the school, when I was on a walk. They were in the forest back by the parking lot.” He explained, careful to avoid mentioning that the specified path was one that Sugawara seemed to want to hide.

“Did anything _else_ happen?” Sugawara prodded, his voice slightly off, more insisting than his normal soft tone.

Tsukishima nodded. “Before I found the bones, I heard someone singing by the river, but they were gone when I followed the sound there. It was weird, like my body moved on its own.” He answered automatically, frowning once he’d finished.

_Why did I say that?_

_I wasn’t going to tell anyone about that.._

Sugawara gave him a calculated look, before dropping it and flashing a friendly smile. “That’s weird, but then again what _isn’t_ weird lately?” 

Feeling dazed, Tsukishima gave the silver-haired boy a confused glance. “Yeah, I guess.”

_What the hell is going on?_

_______________________________

_Is he suspicious?_

Sugawara couldn’t bring himself to relax around Tsukishima. 

The blonde hadn’t said anything outright, but Sugawara knew he must’ve seen him sneaking around that pathway before. How else would he have known about it? 

Only a select few people knew about the path, and all of them had always been extremely careful to keep it a secret. 

_Damn it, I fucked up big time._

Casting a careful glance at Tsukishima, Sugawara let out a quiet sigh. He hadn’t mentioned seeing Sugawara there so far, so it was safe to assume that he understood the path was supposed to be a secret.

_But why? Does he know?_

Tsukishima didn’t notice him staring, busy being pestered by Hinata, Kageyama, and Nishinoya about his time at the police station, wondering if he’d found a way to _break into their secret files_ or if he’d _’seen any zombies around afterwards.’_

Daichi did though, and he nudged his shoulder softly, looking concerned. “Did something happen between you two?” He prodded, glancing between them.

“No, I’m just worried about him.” Sugawara lied easily, forcing a small smile. Tearing his gaze away from the blonde, Sugawara ushered his friends inside the school. 

After everyone split up to head to their own classes, Sugawara’s attention slipped back into his thoughts while he walked with Daichi to their English class.

There was so much to think about, after all. He was still worried about Tsukishima knowing the truth about him, and they still hadn’t found any solid leads in their investigation. To top it all off, Sugawara still had to pull off his plan after school today. 

His head was swimming with theories, back up plans, back up plans for _those_ back up plans, and ideas on how to convince Tsukishima that he was just a regular, boring human. 

Walking into the classroom, Sugawara barely registered that Daichi had left his side to talk to their teacher about something, while he continued on to their self-assigned seat in the back of the classroom. 

Slipping into his seat, Sugawara was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn’t even notice when someone who was decidedly _not_ Daichi plopped down beside him. Almost. 

A charming smile paired with sharp eyes sat beside him, casually waving away Daichi when he approached his usual seat. 

Sugawara sighed. “Hello, Oikawa.”

Oikawa gave him a bright grin, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his palm as he peered at the silver-haired boy. “Hello, Suga-chan. It seems we just keep running into each other these days!”

Rolling his eyes, Sugawara shot Daichi an apologetic smile, ignoring the questioning look on the brunet’s face. 

“What do you want?” He asked, shifting his gaze back towards the cunning boy beside himself. 

Oikawa’s smile faded into a serious expression, his voice lowering as the teacher began her lecture in the front of the classroom. “I want you to keep me updated about the investigation.”

Sugawara felt a mixture of surprise and suspicion. “Why the sudden interest? If I remember correctly, you said we should leave it to the authorities.” Oikawa rolled his eyes, waving his hand dismissively.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. It’s pretty obvious by now that the police don’t know shit about what’s going on. I don’t like the thought of a homicidal maniac running around, it puts Takeru and my friends in danger. It’s putting a strain on Iwa-chan too, his pack is stressed out and paranoid and he’s wearing himself thin keeping them all calm and orderly. If there’s anything I can do to help him, I’ll do it, even if it means annoying my dearest cousin.” Oikawa answered determinedly, keeping direct eye contact. 

Sugawara blinked in surprise. That was a lot more honest than he’d expected. 

_Of course his driving factor is Iwaizumi, what else was I expecting?_

He gave Oikawa the slightest nod, nearly missing the flicker of relief that flashed through the brunet’s eyes. “Our only suspect right now is Mr. Takeda. I’m going to get the Principal to show me the security tapes from that night to see if he was still at school when the murder took place.” Sugawara murmured, glancing around in case anyone had been eavesdropping. 

Oikawa looked surprised. “I thought you hated using your powers on other people?” 

“I do.” Sugawara frowned, already dreading what he was going to have to do later on.

_But I don’t really have a choice, do I?_

___________________________________

If anyone asked Tsukishima what he had learned during the first half of the day, he’d only be able to stare blankly at them. 

His first two classes were spent half asleep, and the next two were spent _actually_ sleeping, his perfect track record in class seemed to earn some pity from his teachers, since they let him be. 

Now it was finally lunchtime, and Tsukishima was debating whether he should eat or squeeze in another nap. 

Yamaguchi was nowhere to be found, so Tsukishima headed to their group’s usual table alone, slumping into a vacant seat beside Sugawara, who was busy whispering with Nishinoya about their secret plan on how to prove whether Mr. Takeda was innocent or not. 

Daichi jogged over to their table, slipping into the seat on the other side of Sugawara, giving his boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek. 

“Are you sure you don’t need me to help you break into the office?” Nishinoya questioned, glancing away from Sugawara to offer Daichi a quick nod in greeting. 

Sugawara nodded, poking at his salad absentmindedly. “Yeah, I’m sure. I just need you to be on the lookout in case anyone is headed to the office while I’m in there.” 

“So what’s up with you and Oikawa? He sure seems eager to hang out with you all of a sudden.” Daichi interrupted, quickly glancing over his shoulder towards the brunet a few tables over.

Tsukishima mimicked him, turning to look at Oikawa, who was laughing at something one of his friends had said, sitting next to an amused-looking Iwaizumi. 

_Since when is Sugawara friends with Oikawa? I thought he didn’t like that guy._

Sugawara smiled awkwardly. “Ah, he said he was interested in the investigation and asked me to keep him updated. I said sure, because I figured he could be helpful to have on our side.” 

Hinata nodded eagerly. “Yeah, he knows a lot more about what goes on in school than any of us, I’m glad he wants to help us out!” 

“What if _he’s _one of the killers? Oikawa might just be trying to make sure we’re not onto him, you have to admit he’s suspicious.” Daichi frowned, lowering his voice.__

__Tsukishima’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “You said he might be _one_ of the killers, as in there’s plural? I thought we all thought that this was a solo murderer?” He piped up. _ _

__“Oh yeah, I guess we forgot to mention that part. Hinata has a theory that there’s either two or more killers, or that the killer has some sort of mental disorder that affects their personality.” Nishinoya explained, while Hinata nodded proudly._ _

__Kageyama rolled his eyes at the redhead. “We voted on which theory we’d investigate, and came to a tie, so you’ll have to be our tiebreaker. So, which idea do _you_ think is right?” _ _

__Tsukishima blinked in surprise._ _

_That’s actually..kind of smart._

__“The first theory seems more plausible to me. Since the kill itself seemed a lot more careful than how the arms were hidden, I think it’s safe to assume that the killer gave the arms to their accomplice, who did a shitty job of hiding the bones after taking the meat.” Tsukishima decided, earning victory whoops from Hinata and Nishinoya._ _

__“Told you I’d win, Kageyama!” Hinata crowed, prompting the dark haired boy to scowl._ _

__“Whatever, dumbass.”_ _

__The duo’s banter was interrupted by Yamaguchi rushing over to the table, plopping down next to Tsukishima. “Hey guys, what’d I miss?” he questioned, taking a swig from his water bottle._ _

__Daichi quickly filled him in, and Yamaguchi slumped when he heard which theory they’d be following. “Aw man, I really thought Hinata was onto something with his other idea.”_ _

__“Where were you?” Tsukishima prodded, frowning. It was unusual for Yamaguchi to disappear without letting him know where he’d be._ _

__Yamaguchi glanced at him. “I stayed after class to get some help on my math homework. I only had one problem left, so I figured I’d just ask Mr. Takeda instead of bothering you, Tsukki.”_ _

__Daichi’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. “He’s our number one suspect! What were you _thinking?”__ _

__“Yeah, but he’s also my math teacher, and my Mom has been getting on me about my grades recently.” Yamaguchi sighed, rolling his eyes._ _

__Nishinoya and Hinata looked impressed, while Daichi looked strained._ _

__“Well damn, you’ve got some balls, Yamaguchi! I wouldn’t risk being alone with Mr. Takeda, even during school.” Nishinoya declared, Hinata nodding vigorously in agreement._ _

__Tsukishima frowned. “Next time come to me instead, I’ve told you that I don’t mind helping you.”_ _

__“Yeah, he’ll take any chance he can to be alone with you.” Kageyama muttered, eliciting a snicker from Hinata._ _

__Tsukishima shot him a glare. “Look who’s talking.” He murmured, praying that Yamaguchi hadn’t overheard Kageyama's snide remark._ _

__Whether Yamaguchi had heard or not would remain a mystery, because the soft spoken boy was busy chatting with Nishinoya, seemingly unaware of the bickering between his other friends._ _

_Why didn’t he just come to me for help?_

__Tsukishima’s sulking was cut short when he noticed Sugawara eyeing him suspiciously, yet again._ _

_Is he really that upset about me knowing his secret spot? I didn’t even mention him when i told the others about it, so why’s he so paranoid?_

__Lunch was nearly over, so Tsukishima decided this was probably his best shot to talk to Sugawara about the whole situation._ _

__Standing up, he brushed himself off and turned to the silver-haired boy._ _

__“Can we talk for a second?” Tsukishima questioned, ignoring the curious stares from the others around them. Sugawara nodded warily, climbing out of his seat and following Tsukishima out of the cafeteria._ _

__Once the two had made their way to a deserted hallway, Sugawara folded his arms across his chest defensively. “So what’s all this about?” He prodded, raising an eyebrow._ _

__“I’m just going to be straightforward with you. I know that the place I found the bones at is your ‘secret spot’ or whatever, but I haven’t told anyone about that- I promise.” Tsukishima blurted, rubbing his neck awkwardly._ _

_Why does he look so confused..?_

__Tsukishima shuffled uncomfortably, watching as his friend’s expression quickly shifted through multiple stages- suspicion, confusion, understanding, before finally settling into one of relief._ _

__A small smile graced the ashen haired boy’s lips, his shoulders relaxing. “Well, as long as you don’t mention it to anyone, I guess it’s fine. It can be our little secret, yeah?” Sugawara prodded, his smile caught somewhere between predatory and friendly._ _

_Something isn't right, here. He’s acting..odd._

__“Of course, nobody needs to know.” Tsukishima conceded, watching the older boy carefully._ _

__“I appreciate that, Tsukki. I gotta go talk to Daichi about something, but I’m glad we talked things out. Communication is key, y’know.” Sugawara winked, patting the blond’s arm before turning to head back to the cafeteria._ _

__“Yeah, talking it out seems to be your specialty.” Tsukishima mused, nearly missing the slight flinch it provoked from Sugawara._ _

__The silver-haired boy didn’t say anything in response, instead continuing his path back to their friends._ _

_I’ll keep an eye on him._

__Trailing after Sugawara, Tsukishima spent the rest of his lunch period stuck in his thoughts, trying to piece together whatever the hell was going on._ _


	8. Beauty & Brains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here's some kagehina as a nice treat before everything goes horribly wrong <3

If there was one thing Shoyo Hinata hated the most, it was being left out. 

“Waaah, Kageyama this sucks! Why do Noya and Suga get to do all the cool spy mission stuff? I want to go on a secret mission, too!” Hinata whined, scuffing the ground with his shoe.

The two of them were hanging out on their old elementary school playground, Kageyama absentmindedly twirling a blade of grass between his fingers while Hinata sat on the swings next to him, lazily pumping back and forth while he complained. 

“I mean, this whole investigation was _my_ idea, this is so unfair! I-it’s _preposterous!”_

Kageyama glanced up, giving the ginger a dubious look. “Do you even know what the word ‘preposterous’ means?” 

“Of course I do!” Hinata squawked, crossing his arms defensively. 

And he _did_ know what it meant, he’d heard Tsukki say it once when Hinata bragged about getting a 65% on his math test, a rare feat.

Kageyama looked unconvinced, but didn’t argue any further. The raven-haired boy had been uncharacteristically quiet since they’d entered the playground together, and it was beginning to make Hinata nervous. 

Hinata was trying to subtly stare at him, admiring the dark hair that hung in front of his friend’s face, as he looked down at the ground, randomly tugging on the grass beneath him. 

“Hey, idiot.” Kageyama broke the silence, glancing upwards to see Hinata already staring at him.

“What?” Hinata questioned, swinging back and forth languidly. 

Kageyama shuffled nervously for a moment, before taking a quiet breath. “Homecoming is in a few days, y’know.” 

Hinata halted his swinging, surprised. With all the investigating and paranoia lately, he’d completely forgotten about the upcoming dance. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that! Are you going with someone?” he prodded, his heart sinking at the thought.

“Actually, I uh, wanted to ask you if you’d want to go with me?” Kageyama asked, firmly avoiding eye contact. 

Hinata froze, nearly toppling off his swing as a result. “As a date?” 

“Yeah, as a date.” Kageyama confirmed, his voice unusually soft. 

Hinata smiled brightly. “I’d love to, Bakeyama!” 

Kageyama’s head jerked up in surprise, his deep blue eyes widening as they locked onto Hinata’s golden brown ones. “Wait, really?” 

Amusement bubbled inside his chest, and Hinata found himself laughing softly. "Well, Duh! I've been flirting with you for _months,_ haven't you noticed?"

"You- Whatever, dumbass!" 

Hinata smiled at the insult, eyeing the blush creeping up Kageyama's neck.

The two day in silence for a while after that, stewing in their own thoughts. After months of pining and tiptoeing around, it was finally all over. It was such a relief, to be able to stop pretending that he didn't want to be with Kageyama, to stroke his fingers through his hair and pull him close and never let go.

Hinata wasn't very good at describing things in words, and that included the way he felt about Kageyama. 

It was a messy feeling, cluttered and loud, bursting at the seams with passion and something else he couldn't quite describe, something like a _woosh,_ or a _bam!_

It was terrifying and comforting at the same time, seeming both incredibly fragile and unbreakable all at once. 

It was something Hinata was never _ever_ going to let go of.

Hinata glanced at Kageyama once more, watching with a soft smile as the dark-haired boy picked a few daisies off of the grass surrounding him, poorly attempting to make a small flower crown. 

Kageyama's tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he carefully wove the stems together, frowning when they tore or fell apart. 

It wasn't often that Hinata had a chance to really look at him like this, to observe quietly and notice all the tiny details about the boy in front of him, so he was grateful that Kageyama felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable like this with him. 

Hinata tried to memorize the scene, to burn it into his memory in a way that he'd never forget about it, so he'd be able to always look back and feel the same warmth he felt right now. 

Despite how comfortable the silence was, there was one nagging question that Hinata was dying to ask. 

"So, does this mean we're boyfriends now?" He questioned, rocking back and forth on his swing. 

Kageyama jolted, dropping his mangled chain of daisies. A bright red flush spread across his face as he made eye contact with Hinata, who was grinning. 

"I-I think so? Do you want to be?" Kageyama stuttered, looking embarrassed. 

Hinata whooped. "Yeah! Even though you're like, emotionally constipated, I still wanna be with you!" 

Kageyama looked conflicted between being irritated and pleased. "Hinata, you are a moron." 

Hinata grinned. "I'm _your_ moron."

___________________________

Sugawara tapped his foot against the floor anxiously. 

The plan was underway, Noya was standing at the end of the hall on guard, running and somersaulting across the hallway like a low quality ninja on steroids. 

"Rolliiinnnggg thunder!" Nishinoya whisper-yelled, somersaulting behind a trash can as a student walked past him. 

Sighing, Sugawara decided to let him have his fun and left to do his part of the mission. It was relatively easy, but he was worried about being asked too many questions by the others, about how he'd convinced the principal to let him see video footage of the school. 

Pushing aside his worries, Sugawara calmly slipped into the front office of the school, smiling pleasantly at the secretary. 

The secretary was an old lady named Mrs. Yui, beloved by many of the students for her kind nature and sweet personality. 

Sugawara felt guilty for using that to manipulate her. 

"Hey, Mrs. Yui! I had an appointment to talk to the principal, is it alright if I head on in?" Sugawara asked cheerily, making sure his voice was confident and alluring enough to erase any doubt she might've had. 

The secretary looked slightly confused for a moment, before her expression became slightly dazed and relaxed. "Ah yes, your appointment.. go ahead on in." 

"Thanks!" Sugawara shot her one last friendly smile, before walking into the principal's office, which was located in the back corner of the room.

Their principal was a man named Mr. Nekomata, a slightly grumpy older man who Sugawara found slightly scary. 

Deciding not to waste any time, Sugawara cut right to the chase. 

"You're going to show me the security footage from the night of Ennoshita's murder, and then you're going to forget about this whole meeting, alright?" Sugawara ordered, pouring all of his charm and persuasiveness into his voice. 

Mr. Nekomata nodded slowly, his face unusually blank. He sorted through the recent tapes, before sliding one into his computer and clicking play. 

Sugawara walked over to the computer, skipping to the estimated time of the murder. 

They were lucky, one of the security cameras was placed outside the math classroom, and he was able to see Mr. Takeda sitting at his desk and grading papers. 

Sugawara frowned. If Mr. Takeda had been the one to kill Ennoshita, surely he would've left the building by now, so why was he still there, calmly looking through his students' tests?

He watched as Mr. Takeda finally left his classroom, leaving the school and entering the parking lot out front. 

Sugawara clicked over to the footage of the outside cameras, and watched Mr. Takeda get into his car and drive away. 

_He didn't even go down the trail, there's no way he could've killed Ennoshita. Damn it!_

Closing off the footage and putting the tape back with the others, Sugawara sighed. They were back to square one, no suspects and no proof of anything. 

He quickly exited the office, sparing a quick smile and wave the secretary before leaving.

As soon as Sugawara had left the office, Nishinoya bounded over towards him. 

"Well, did you find anything? Is he guilty?" The smaller boy pestered, bouncing on the balls of his feet eagerly. 

Sugawara sighed again. "No, it couldn't have been him. Mr. Takeda was in his classroom for too long and he drove away, he didn't even go down the trail. Mr. Takeda couldn't have possibly killed Ennoshita." 

Nishinoya groaned in despair, slumping over. "Well, fuck! Now what do we do?" 

Sugawara shrugged. "I don't really see a way for us to solve this, unless we get more clues on who could've done it." 

Nishinoya frowned. "We can't just give up! Ennoshita deserves justice!" 

Sugawara didn't answer, unwilling to say his thoughts out loud. 

_Will we really be able to give him it, though?_

The two of them walked silently out of the school, waving goodbye before heading their separate ways home. 

As Sugawara took his usual route to his house, he pulled out his phone and called his cousin, which had become an annoying habit lately.

"Yahoo, Suga-chan! To what do I owe the pleasure of speaking with you?" Oikawa answered the phone quickly, his voice trilling through the speaker of Sugawara's phone. 

Sugawara rolled his eyes, both annoyed and slightly amused at once. "The Takeda lead was a dead end, it couldn't have been him."

Oikawa cursed. "Well, now what? Do you have any new leads to follow?" 

"Not that I know of. I don't really see a way for us to solve it at this point, there's just not enough to work with." Sugawara sighed, running a hand through his hair stressfully. 

Oikawa groaned, and Sugawara could just picture him massaging his temples, trying desperately to come up with a plan. "I've asked around, and nobody really seems to know anything, other than the basic rumours that are floating around." 

That piqued Sugawara's interest. "What rumours?" 

"Do you live under a rock or something, Suga-chan? Apparently someone saw a hooded figure with a dark bundle running away from the crime scene, although that's probably all bullshit." Oikawa explained, doubt lacing his normally confident voice. 

_That could be a lead, although it still doesn't really give us anything to work with._

"Do you know who started the rumours? I want to try to see if they know anything else." Sugawara asked, feeling slightly more hopeful.

Oikawa laughed lightly. "I know everything, darling. The person who started them is technically a guy named Bokuto, but the actual person who _saw_ the killer is a guy named Akaashi, he's a vampire friend of Hanamaki's. Apparently, Akaashi already spoke to the police about it, but they didn't take him seriously." 

_Akaashi, huh?_

Sugawara knew who he was, they shared a few classes together, despite being a year younger, Akaashi was smart enough to be placed in advanced classes. Akaashi had always been quiet and polite towards him. Sugawara wasn't surprised to hear that the boy was a vampire, Akaashi had the porcelain skin and unnatural beauty that most vampires tended to have. They weren't close, but Sugawara figured he wasn't the type of person to lie for attention. 

"I'll talk to him about it, I think I still have his phone number from when we did a history project together last year." Sugawara said, nodding to himself. 

"Good luck with that Suga-chan. He doesn't really seem like the talking type, but hopefully you'll be able to drag some information out of him. Let me know how it goes!" Oikawa chirped, and Sugawara agreed, hanging up shortly afterwards. 

He quickly made his way home, heading straight to his room. 

Tossing his backpack on the floor, Sugawara flopped onto his bed and pulled out his phone once again, only this time he scrolled through his contacts until he found the name he was looking for. 

_Found you, Akaashi Keiji._

Sending a quick test message, Sugawara raised his eyebrows in surprise when it was immediately opened. 

_Sugawara: Hey, Akaashi. I've heard some rumours about you apparently seeing the killer that's on the loose, I'd like to ask you a few questions about it, if you don't mind!_

_Akaashi is typing…_

_Akaashi: Hello Sugawara-san. The rumours are true, what would you like to know? I'm not sure if I can be of much help._

Sugawara grinned. The rumours were true! This could end up being a huge lead, if they were lucky.

_Sugawara: Thank you so much! Also, you can just call me Suga, no need for honorifics. Did you see the killer's face or anything that stood out?_

_Akaashi: I didn't see their face, I was behind them when they ran past. They were slender and tall, and ran unusually fast. That's all I remember, I hope it helps you, Sugawara-san._

Sugawara snorted a laugh at Akaashi's blatant ignorance of his suggestion to drop the honorifics. 

_Sugawara: By "unusually fast" do you mean supernaturally fast?_

_Akaashi: I suppose it depends on if you believe in the supernatural or not._

_Sugawara: Considering that I am supernatural, I suppose that I do._

_Akaashi: Since you're being so open about it, I'm assuming someone has already told you about what I am?_

_Sugawara: Yeah, Oikawa told me. Vampires have better senses, right? Did you figure out what kind of being the killer was?_

_Akaashi: Since you're already aware of what I am, I guess I can tell you a bit more. The killer was definitely a vampire, I could smell the similarities between our scents, and the speed confirmed it for me. If you don't mind, may I ask what exactly you are?_

_Sugawara: That's really helpful of you, thanks! I'm a siren, and I'd prefer it if we could keep that between us. Not many people outside of my immediate family know about it._

_Akaashi: Thank you for trusting me, Sugawara-san. I won't tell anyone, and I hope you'll return the favour._

_Sugawara: Of course! Thanks for your help!_

_Akaashi: You're welcome, Sugawara-san._

Sugawara clicked out of the conversation after carefully deleting the texts mentioning how inhuman they are, before deciding to check on the groupchat with the others. 

It was suspiciously quiet, it was rare for Hinata to not be spamming them all with messages about anything and everything. 

_He must be busy._

He sent a quick text message to the others, filling them in on the news about Mr. Takeda's innocence and the information Akaashi had told him, only omitting the part about them being supernatural. 

Surprisingly, it was Daichi who answered first. 

_Daichi: So our only lead is that the killer is tall and lean and supposedly a vampire?_

Sugawara frowned. At least they had _something,_ why was Daichi being so pessimistic? 

_Sugawara: it's a start, and it's better than nothing_

_Daichi: I guess_

_Tsukishima: I have pictures of the bones I found, there might be a clue in there._

_Yamaguchi: way to go, tsukki!_

_Noya: send them!!!_

_Tsukishima has attached three photos_

Sugawara studied the photos carefully, noticing the obvious bite marks and scratches along them. 

_Sugawara: They look like they've been chewed on by a dog or wolf. Maybe a werewolf did it?_

_Noya: or a werewolf could've found the bones and chewed on them?_

_Tsukishima: They were in a neat pile, I highly doubt that._

_Yamaguchi: So we think a werewolf did it?_

_Daichi: I guess so, yeah. That still doesn't really give us much to work with, though._

_Noya: Aren't werewolves and vampires supposed to be natural enemies, though? Why would they suddenly work together like this?_

_Sugawara: That's what we need to figure out. If we're able to figure out who one of them is, surely we'll be able to catch their partner as well. We got this, you guys!_

Shutting off his phone, Sugawara rolled over onto his stomach with a sigh. 

Ignoring the persistent buzzing that was most definitely his friends bickering in the groupchat, Sugawara debated whether or not he should called Oikawa and update him. 

He'd made a promise to keep the cocky brunet updated, but surely that could wait a few hours? He really wasn't in the mood to deal with his cousin's chatter, too exhausted from his stressful day. 

Deciding that his cousin could wait a little longer, Sugawara tossed his phone aside and headed downstairs. 

He hadn't eat since lunch, and his stomach growled loudly at the thought of food. 

Walking into the kitchen, Sugawara was surprised to see that his father was nowhere to be seen, his presence replaced by a bright pink sticky note stuck onto the shiny surface on their refrigerator. 

Padding over to it, Sugawara peeled the note off of the fridge and glanced down at the messily scrawled handwriting across it. 

_I had to go on a last minute work trip, there should be leftovers in the fridge and I left money for takeout. I should be back by next week, I've left the car for you to use._

_Love, Dad_

Sugawara wasn't necessarily surprised, his dad had to go on trips for his work every once and a while, so Sugawara was used to taking care of himself.

Opening the fridge, he pulled out the leftovers from last night and stuck them in the microwave to heat up. 

_Since Dad's gone, maybe everyone can spend the night here after Homecoming. It'd be nice to just hang out for a night, take some of our focus off of the investigation._

_God knows we all need a break, and one night off can't possibly hurt._

His microwave beeped, signalling that his food was ready and breaking him away from his thoughts. 

Once Sugawara had settled down with his food, he began going over everything he knew while he ate, trying to find any connections they might've overlooked. 

_We know that one of the people involved is most likely a werewolf, and that it's probably a team of two people._

_If there were three or more people involved, they would've taken the whole corpse in order to feed everyone. Because only the arms were taken, the team has to be pretty small._

_We also know that the killer is a tall, lean, vampire- unless Akaashi lied to me._

_But why would a werewolf and a vampire team up together?_

_I'm definitely no expert on either species, but I know they don't tend to be so bold and violent. So what pushed them to do something so horrific, and to team up for it?_

_The vampire's role is pretty clear, they did the killing and brought the food for the werewolf. But what did they gain? Maybe some food, sure, but there's easier ways to gain access to human blood._

_The werewolf's role is even less clear, they must've either blackmailed or threatened the vampire into it, or struck up some type of deal._

_But what was the deal? Did the vampire simply want to kill someone, or was there more at play here?_

_I guess we'll just have to figure that out, huh?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you're enjoying the story so far ! 
> 
> A while back i was asked if i had a tumblr, and i decided to finally make one in case anyone wants to ask questions/talk about Unravel (or Immunity!) with me there! 
> 
> Here's my tumblr: http://churrokurro.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, see you next chapter!


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